[KENOS] IC Inbox

[hauntedking]

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mid-ish takiltu, somewhere in springstar!!

[oomfies]

[ Lottie is just about as obsessed with her new polaroid as she is herself, which makes for a fun combination talking a walk around town and just snapping random photos. She's brought a tote bag to hang on her shoulder, various little photos shoved inside. Without any worries of running out of film she's been on a warpath, effectively cementing everything inside her bag of goodies.

Which is why she doesn't particularly notice the man who has been intensely staring at her. Only notices his presence after the image develops on the picture and she sees.. Yup. Dimitri just unintentionally dogging her with his single eye in front of the pretty, festive, display she meant to photograph.

For a second, she looks confused. Concerned?

Then intrigued.

Then concerned again, before lifting her head up to try and find him. ]

[hauntedking]

[ Dimitri isn't out to do anything in particular; he's running a personal errand, little more, and taking in the sights of Springstar. It helps keep him centered. What grabs his attention about Lottie is the strange device she seems to be pointing at things - or really, him, from his perspective. He blinks at the sound of a little click and something... spits out of the box? He hovers for a moment, quite taken by it for a moment, but unsure of what to say.

Oh, he's been caught. He lifts a hand, as if to ward off an objection as she looks up to see him. ]

...apologies, I didn't mean to stare. I just - I don't know what that is.

Communion → Voice

[erbe]

[It is time. There is no reason to waste it. The earlier she gets this done the more information they'll have. At times like these she is glad. Thankful to be raised as a mage with the emphasis on unshakeable elegance. With no hint of farce in her sincerity she reaches out measured and sure—]

Mr. Blaiddyd, have I reached you? It's Ayako. Now that I have been here long enough to settle I have spent my efforts on a fitting gift. Please allow me to express my gratitude for how you saved me that night in Alenroux.

[hauntedking]

Ayako!

[ There's almost immediately a sense of warmth and friendliness. ]

I hadn't heard from you in a while and wasn't sure I would, but I'm glad to hear you've managed to settle in. You needn't thank me, I was simply doing what needed to be done.

action | springstar | roughly mid-pelu

[eyesite]

( the day prior they had set a time and a place, and today, john has made the appointment and with time to spare. his personal schedule isn't exactly crowded, and even if it had been, he would have hastily cleared it as if with a violent sweep of an arm in order to be where he is now. the hunger is different than the illness he had faced when he had been away from the Institute for too long prior to becoming an avatar — then, he had felt confused and dizzy, his thoughts had clouded to the point of sluggishness, and he hadn't the faintest clue what the problem could be until elias had sent him a statement "to tide him over." but with his connection to the Eye far more profound and far more direct now, it affects him far more. the Eye may not be able to communicate directly, but it lets its desires known by way of the carrot and the stick. it tries to incentivize him by sharing in the profound satisfaction it feels in consuming fear, in consolidating knowledge, but by the same token it constricts the body and the mind as punishment when he abstains. his thoughts are scattered and indistinct; he's nauseous, his body aches as if wracked with fever, and he can't help his hands from shaking lightly as he sits at one of the benches in the park, waiting.

he shouldn't have let it get this bad. he usually doesn't — if he hadn't had the imminent promise of a voluntary verbal statement, he likely would have ended up wandering the streets of Highstorm last night in search of a suitable replacement. but he consoles himself that, yes, he wouldn't starve the two of them for too much longer.

seemingly in recognition of that promise, the Eye relents, and he breathes a sigh of relief as the symptoms momentarily abate.

he realizes he hadn't had the forethought to ask what his first volunteer looked like. hell... had he even asked him his name?

it's likely that he's thinking something along these lines, concern etched into his expression in a way that it looks like it's very familiar with, that dimitri comes across him, exactly when and where they had previously agreed upon. )

[hauntedking]

[ This is going to be an interesting, terrifying experience. He agreed to give this man his fear to let him have a taste of his own inner weakness - all so he can live or at least function without harming other people around him. How could he do anything else? Even if he doesn't quite know him, it's something idmitri is more than willing to do. People deserve a chance. So he arrives in this isolated little park, this speck of greenery, a bit reserved. Unsure of what comes next.

But he's ready.

It takes him a moment, but there's another man lingering. Waiting. He turns toward him with long steps. ]

Hello. Are you...?

voice

[bakedapple]

[ Link's mental presence is felt for a moment before he speaks, open and calm as he reaches out to his friend. ]

Dimitri, good morning. How've you been doing lately? I've been thinking of you, wondering how you're faring.

voice;

[hauntedking]

Link!

[ Dimitri sounds... tired. But positive. ]

I'm doing well enough. Recovering a little. Trying to find rest where I can. How are you?

a few days after the post-iconoclast oracle discussions

[bakedapple]

[ It's strange how quickly everyone, Link included, is settling back into life in Kenos despite what they'd been through. Time heals all wounds, but Shard-Bearers have no choice but to move on from it at lightning speed. Life marches on, even in the wake of strife and tragedy, but... the scars don't fade so quickly.

Dimitri has weighed on Link's mind since their brief exchange of words on Set's Communion address. He wants to see his friend again. A part of him wants to make sense of the Dimitri he witnessed in the Tree's tunnels and the kind, regal king he'd come to see as a friend. That the man was still haunted by past trauma was clear to Link, even before it manifested as violence. But what degree of trauma causes a person to do that in the first place...? Would he do it again? Dimitri obviously regrets it and hopes he won't, but it seems this is not the first time he's broken promises to himself.

It's a hard feeling to put into words, but there is a drive within Link to help, even though he really has no idea how. Their friendship weighs on his mind as he departs from the Seat of the Tribune to make the trip to Dimitri's new house, a small wicker basket draped over one arm. When he knocks at the door, Dimitri will find him waiting with a calm smile on the other side, but something about Link seems... off. Normally never seen without his combat equipment, it's nowhere to be found. His hair looks noticeably longer compared to when they explored Cyrus' office, and even his ears seem different. But the smile is the same. ]

✉️ early warku

[wolfish]

[ About a week after their first encounter, if Dimitri happens to be home in the evening, there's a knock at the door of his house. Should he inspect, he'll find a box waiting on his doorstep.

Inside is a plate of cookies, shaped and frosted to resemble stylized lion faces. No two are entirely identical. One has an eye patch. Just the one. No reason.

Tucked under the plate is a simple note on an unremarkable piece of paper:

It truly is a lovely house.

It's a modest offering by Yuri's standards, but it is what's within his means for now. Not that he signed it, but does he even need to? ]

EARLY WARQU; COMMUNION.

[redsoil]

[ Even being dissipated for a few days has not truly slowed the way that Set literally and metaphorically attacks the world of Kenos at large; he is tired, wearied from the death-sickness that follows him and has much to do, but not so much that he cannot take a moment to reach out to the young warlord who so dutifully invoked his name while seeking slaughter.

Dimitri and Hayame have been diligent, in their devotion, and Set will not fail to reward them for it. He reaches along the connection between all Shardbearer minds, into the ranks of his Aspect's polar opposite to find Dimitri. The sense of Set's arrival that of fingers softly finding the ends of his hair to tug upon them, of arms sliding around the man's chest from behind, a face tucked along the line of his throat. Teeth in the dark. ]

Dimitri, I have something for you.

[hauntedking]

[ It takes a moment for Dimitri to fully register who this is. For a moment there's a flicker of confusion, a mental shiver from the sensation, and then a slow sort of exhale as he... settles? This is almost familiar. The prickle of discord, the scent of sand. Heat. So different from his cooler homeland - because he is pine trees and cool mountain air. The threat of teeth against his skin makes him shiver. ]

...Set.

[ Set does enjoy this, doesn't he? ]

What is it you have? I wasn't expecting to hear from you.

voice.

[wolfish]

[ Yuri is...not the best about this communion business. It strikes him as overly intrusive, and he meets it with a knee-jerk resistance each time a stranger's voice pops up in his head.

Even so, he can admit to himself that it's convenient on occasion. Still, there's a certain air of caution when he tries initiating this odd form of communication.

Congratulations on being the first person he's tried this with, Dimitri. ]

I thought I should update you on that matter we discussed.

[ A pause, evidently deliberating on how best to put this, even though he'd already invested time on that very thing. ]

I took a run at it and evidently I'm not Zenith material. Imagine that.

[hauntedking]

[ There's a flicker of recognition - he's gotten much more used to it over the last few months - and then he responds. ]

I see.

[ He can't quite hide the twinge of relief in his 'voice'. ]

That may end up being for the better, don't you think?

mid-september

[bakedapple]

Good afternoon, Dimitri. [ Link's Communion message comes through clear and even, with a pleasant tone. ] Have you been well lately?

This may seem strange, but I am going to Kowloon tomorrow and I felt I should tell someone. The place has quite the reputation, and I'm going there to meet a Zenith, and... well, you never know what could happen. It didn't seem wise to just go without telling anybody.

[hauntedking]

Link! I've been doing well enough, thank you.

[ Although he does have his own worries and stress. But he doesn't want to burden Link with them. ]

Which Zenith are you meeting? Some of them are honestly quite reasonable.

a memory—

[kenosnpcs]

[ Very suddenly, there’s a sense of Communion touching your character’s mind. However, it’s as if they connect with the mind of a shared Aspect, as they’re not able to block out the brief, but sharp memory that comes to them. ]

A Shard-Bearer shares an anecdote about their life at a bar, but they stop mid-sentence when the realization suddenly strikes them. They don’t remember the details of their son’s face anymore.

[ ooc note — Just to avoid OOC confusion/misinterpretation, the details included in this memory are random and are not necessarily interconnected or plot meaningful beyond a surface level. However, your character is free to interpret this random memory however they’d like! This event will also be touched on somewhat during today’s NPC Communion Post. ]

Late Takiltu

[wolfish]

[ The last Oracle being one hell of a time for more than a few people Yuri knows, he can't help wondering how a certain king is faring. Once people immediately around him are faring well enough that he feels he can take the time to himself, he reaches out via Communion.

It may not be his favorite method, but it may be preferable to stopping by unannounced. ]

You hanging in there, Dimitri?

[ He hopes so, but he's heard some wild tales about someone exploding... ]

[hauntedking]

Oh, Yuri.

[ There's a flicker of recognition. ]

I'm managing so far. Trying to process everything has been... tiring.

Late Takiltu (12/20)

[wolfish]

[ Just after one endless day rolls over into another there comes a knock on Dimitri's door. When he answers he'll find a courier with a parcel addressed to him. It has some heft to it, but nothing that would stand out too much to Dimitri.

When he opens the box, he'll find a handsome tea set patterned with blue roses and trimmed with silver along with a container filled with a familiar confection. Though the resources available to them aren't precisely the same, Yuri has recreated a Faerghan classic for him. There are a good dozen buns, enough for him to enjoy over time or with friends.

The accompanying note simply reads:
Wishing you a Happy Birthday, Dimitri.

- Yuri ]

post-Harbinger Oracle

[tattooism]

[There is no warning, nor request for permission before a mental presence seeks to creep into Dimitri’s communion. There is nothing threatening about it, per se… but it is sudden and presumptuous, accompanied by the too-familiar sensation of a soft body pressing against broad back, slim arms draping over shoulders, and the fragrant scent of aromatic tobacco.

That, and the sound of a sultry, husky voice saying,]

Congratulations on your victories, boy~

slips a tagback before bed

[hauntedking]

[ There's an immediate sense of alarm and surprise; these aren't sensations he's used to. Along with it is a creeping, growing sense of embarrassment (and maybe underneath it, that tinge of arousal; a moment where shame and heady need meet). ]

Excuse me. Do I know you?

And thank you, I think?

[ His mind is working overtime a bit here. ]

COMMUNION.

[redsoil]

Dimitri?

[ Maybe later, it will be telling that he comes to Dimitri instead of Claude, about this. ]

I have a question for you. About something you did some time ago — during the Iconoclast Oracle.

[hauntedking]

Set-?

[ He's only slightly surprised. There's a flicker of something - a pause - and then: ]

If I can remember, I'll try to answer.

february; one week after manor attack

[bakedapple]

[ Since he revived, the whereabouts of Zelda's Shard have never left his mind. He sat in jail thinking about her; he snuck through Springstar after his escape thinking about her. When he lays down, he's hoping she's okay, and when he wakes up, he's wondering when he'll see her again. With everything that's been happening, he has put it off until now — and, maybe, procrastinating. Dreading.

If the Meris did shatter her, it had probably happened before he'd even revived yet. ]

Dimitri... I lost Zelda. I think someone in the Meridian has her. [ pause. ] Maybe... Shez, but I don't know for sure. Can you help me?

[hauntedking]

Link?

[ There's a hum of something hopeful in his voice. It's mixed with weariness and a sense of resignation. ]

Zelda? I don't know-

[ The shard that Link received from Yima, probably. It takes him a moment. ]

I - yes, yes. I didn't know that the shard was... missing. I can see what I can find.

a few days after manor attack

[semicharmed]

[ As long as Matt's in Springstar, doing his best to heal these gaping wounds as one guy with limited resources, he figures ... he should reach out to the Meridians he'd been friendly with before. Maybe they won't want anything to do with him, but he has to try. It's about bigger things than his shrinking desire to avoid rejection.

So--tentatively, with the sense of someone waiting at the door to gather the courage to knock: ]

Dimitri?

[hauntedking]

Matt?

[ Dimitri's mental voice sounds a bit weary. And maybe just sad. ]

What can I do for you?

[wolfish]

[ After a certain conversation, Yuri had some time to mentally review. He and Dimitri had digressed into a conversation that more or less amounted to an open invitation at odd hours, and as accustomed as he is to a good bit of banter, he'd normally chalk it up to just that... But this is Dimitri, and he's nothing if not sincere.

But that doesn't preclude the man from having a sense of humor, so Yuri spends some hours debating. And baking the sweet buns their countrymen so favor, among other things. Because whether they were having themselves a bit of fun joking around or not, Yuri fully intends to stop by. For one thing, he can confirm whether they were joking around, and he's curious as to how Dimitri would react, anyway.

That part might be more interesting to him than he'd admit.

So Dimitri will find, at two on the clock, that Yuri's letting himself in through a window. Why? Why not, it's more fun that way. He hardly ever gets to make use of certain skills of his, and it's a chance to sneak another little knicknack into Dimitri's house in the bargain, plucking a small cat figurine out of the basket he's brought and placing it on the nearest shelf. ]

[hauntedking]

[ In all honesty, Dimitri hadn't thought too hard about the conversation they'd had. Or at least not the reality of it. He had been thinking about it in a different way - turning it over in his head as he put a few things together.

Huh.

Other than that, he hadn't quite considered that the other man might actually take him up on the offer and show up at two in the morning. Although "morning" and "evening" have a bit of a different note to it in Springstar, truth be told. In theory he's asleep, but as always he doesn't always have the best time getting to sleep - although it's far and away better than it used to be. So he's not truly asleep, but rather dozing on the sofa in his living room, a book splayed open against his chest. Sleeping lightly enough that he wakes after a moment and starts as he hears something.

He blinks blearily and then rises to his feet to go poke his head into the kitchen.

Huh. ]

...Yuri? Is that you?

backdated to early Erqu

[sterngaze]

[Liem's mental presence comes as a polite, patient pressure on the very edge of Dimitri's awareness. Like a candle veiled by a curtain or a moth fluttering against a window pane, Liem's contact is unobtrusive, but easy to discern once one focuses directly on it.

Once a connection is made, the message is simple:]

Hello, Dimitri. Do you have a moment to talk? I have news you might be interested to hear.

[hauntedking]

[ There's a little flicker of surprise and then curiosity. ]

Liem. I - yes. I have some time. What news do you have?

[dreamflowers]

[It's the first time Jade is the one reaching out to anyone's mental connection. Which is strange. Her presence is usually suffocating, like drowning. It's still cold as it always is, but it's not as harsh with Dimitri.]

Hey. Outta curiosity, have you heard from Alice recently?

[Oof.]

[hauntedking]

[ There's silence (or the sensation of it for a long moment) before he replies. ]

I - no. I'm afraid I haven't. I take it you haven't either?