towerofanimus | Baby it's Cold Outside~

Entry tags:

Baby it's Cold Outside~

Characters: Two yelling redheads, and a you in a pear tree.
Setting: Anywhere between the Dormitory halls and the cafeteria.
Format: Take your pick; starting in action tags.
Summary: It's freezing in the tower. Luke lived in an area that was warm more than it was cold. Guess how the last couple days have been for him?
Warnings: Lots and lots and lots of whining.

AAAAACHOOOOOOOO!!!

[It goes without saying, but anyone in the dormitory hallways can probably hear Luke before they see him. The poor redhead has no change of clothes; the only clothing he has is the thin coat and t-shirt that exposes his stomach, as well as his baggy pants. Needless to say, he's been suffering from the below freezing temperatures lately.]

[As he trudges his way to the cafeteria, he has his arms wrapped around his midsection, trying desperately to stay warm, while Amnon hangs out under his coat, only the tips of his ears visible.]

Man... this isn't fair... it's not supposed to be this cold insiiiiiide...

[And here comes the whine; someone might want to warm him up before it turns into a full on rant.]

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[Why, oh why does he have the bad feeling that that's an understatement?]

...Hmph. Lead the way.

[Like he knows where "somewhere warmer" is he just got here]

Mm...

[...problem was, he didn't know what was warmer either. Even his dorm room was cold, but at least his blanket was there...]

[He ended up leading Asch back to his dorm room, flopping on his bed and pulling all the covers around him and the cheagle stuffed in his coat. By the time he was done, it looked like he had built a little fort around himself... though he was still shaking in cold.]

O-okay. Go for it.

...

[Really. This is your idea of warmer. ~~replica plz~~]

...Scoot over, I'm not going to stand here all day while you're comfortable.

Er, sure.

[Luke fumbled with his cocoon, shuffling back until he was sitting on his pillow.]

[He takes a seat near the end of the bed, crossing one leg over the other. Where to begin... This was one of his least favorite experiences the first time.]

...

[And if he tries to tell everything that happened, they'll be here all day.]

Any burning questions?

[Get the worst of the idiocy out of the way now, if you know what's good for you.]

[...perhaps a bit surprisingly, a serious, haunted look appeared on Luke's face. He turned away for a moment, worrying his lip, before finally turning his attention back to Asch.]

Um... there... is one thing... but I'm not sure how to ask...

[He paused, hugging his cocoon closer to himself.]

...something told me... that there's... something weird about me. Can you... tell me anything about... that...?

[...]

... If you've at least figured out enough to ask, you're not as worthless at the other you.

[He shifts slightly in the bed, brushing some hair out of his face.]

Hmph, no point pretending otherwise. You're a replica created to take my place when I was a child.

[To take his name, his family... and his death sentence.]

[Luke let out a faint noise, curling up on himself a little. He... had accepted himself, but that... He had been hoping that his shadow was wrong, that it was just reading the clues wrong... of course, he wasn't that lucky.]

[He forced out a breath, feeling Amnon wiggling around in his coat, but he put a hand over him, keeping him quiet. It was a moment before he could speak, and even then it came out choked.]

...y-yeah... I know, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for telling me.

I'm not someone who's going to encourage your idiocy by hiding the truth from you.

[As far as he's concerned, his replica has managed to find enough people like that in his life. Asch isn't going to be counted among them.]

I'm not here to pamper you.

[More like keep an eye on him. Just in case more stupid happens.]

[Luke managed to pull himself away from being depressed long enough to shoot Asch an annoyed look.]

I wouldn't want you to. Besides, I've been here for a lot longer; you'll probably need my help for what to expect.

[He hesitated for a moment, shifting so he could wrap his arms around his cheagle.]

...Asch, I... um... Why was I...?

[Born? Made? How does he even...]

Because the Score said that I would go to Akzeriuth someday and die, taking the city along with me.

[He gives that a moment to sink in.]

Van desired the power of the "scion of Lorelei" - the ability to produce hyperresonance at will - to further his own plans. In order to ensure that he would have access to that power, he kidnapped me and had you created to take my place.

[Asch frowns deeply, glaring down at the floor.]

You're a perfect replica down to fonon frequency, and the fomicry used to create you was illegal. No one would have any reason to suspect unless they had seen the both of us, which I'm sure is a part of the reason why Van suggested keeping you in the manor.

[...and that sound was Luke's heart hitting his stomach. He was born... just to die? And Master Van was the one responsible? It was too much; he thought he was going to be sick -- it was far too much for him to take in, and it was making his stomach twist over on itself.]

[Amnon wiggled out of his grasp then, finally popping his head out of Luke's coat and the cocoon, letting out curious mieu noises as he looked back and forth between Luke and Asch, confuse.]

[... Yeah, he's just going to focus on the cheagle for a minute until Luke gets his shit back together.

Seriously replica how do you keep acquiring these things.]

[This totally wasn't his fault. Amnon wiggled his way out of Luke's cocoon, approaching Asch, his nose going at ninety miles an hour as he curiously sniffed at this person that looked like his master.]

[They smell just alike, too. Sorry little guy, your life just became a lot more confusing. Asch keeps an eye on the critter until he's safely determined that it isn't going to breathe fire on him before looking back up at Luke.]

Got a hold of yourself yet?

[Worst comforter, it's this guy.]

[Luke noticed, and he let out a breath as Amnon continued to curiously sniff at Asch, until he finally decided the redhead was worthy, and attempted to crawl under his tabbard.]

Y-yean... I'm all right.

[...Oi. Cheagle. Get out from there. Cheagles do not belong in God-General uniforms.

...Asch doesn't actually remove the fuzzball.]

Just try to avoid having a total breakdown.

[AKA, you could have taken it a lot worse.]

[Amnon let out a happy noise, wriggling around until he was curled up on Asch's lap. Hey, it was a lot warmer there under the tabbard than it was in Luke's coat.]

[Luke, meanwhile, reached up from his cocoon, swiping angrily at his eyes. H-he wasn't crying, dammit.]

I-I said I was fine!

[He let out an annoyed noise, huddling the blankets closer around himself. He was silent for a long moment, before he finally spoke up again.]

So... Akzeriuth... I-I'm supposed to die there instead of you...? But... Master Van told me if I used my hyperressonance on the misama, I'd get rid of it and be a hero...

[He trailed off, making a face; his Shadow told him he needed to start seeing things more clearly, and now that he heard himself repeat what Van told him... damn, it really did sound ridiculous.]

Van lies. Get used to it.

[He folds his arms.]

He used your hyperresonance to destroy the Sephiroth supporting the town, and escaped via Arietta's griffons, dragging me along for the ride. The only reason you and your group survived the fall was because of Tear's fonic hymns. No one else survived the collapse; they were all either crushed by the shattered crust or sank into the miasma in the Qliphoth.

[And now begins the point where Luke needs a glossary.]

...yeah, I get it now...

[He lied about why he was "kidnapped"... probably about why he was being held in the manor too. But... his sword master had taught him and been so nice to him for so long. Why... why would he do those things...?]

I don't understand... what's the Sephiroth? The Qliphoth?

[Cliff notes version, please; he wouldn't be able to brain the full version.]

[And really, Asch, you should've expected this ignorance and just explained what you meant already anyway.]

Almost all life on Auldrant lives on the outer shell of the planet, which Yulia lifted into the sky to save from the miasma. The ten pillars that support that floating crust are called the Sephiroth; they're upwellings of memory particles controlled by the passage rings. That's what Van had you destroy; without the passage ring calling the memory particles up from below, the Sephiroth failed and the land fell.

The area below the crust that was lifted is called the Qliphoth. For the most part, it's fluid, and there's nothing but the sea of miasma as far as the eye can see. After Akzeriuth fell, all of the land sank into that and disappeared.

[Good enough can we be moving on now?]

Er... I think I get it...

[So... he was going to Akzeriuth, thinking he was going to save it, that he was going to be an awesome hero... and Van intended to make him destroy the place and sink it into the miasma...]

[...]

[Yeah, sorry Asch, but that's a little too much shock for his system. Excuse him while he runs for the bathroom to puke.]

...

[Yeah, he's just going to... stare at the cheagle until his replica comes back.

Hello cheagle. Are you quite comfortable there. ~~Because then at least one of them is.~~]

[Amnon had curled up to sleep, although he lifted his head, letting out a worried mieu when he heard Luke throwing up. It was a moment before the other redhead came back out, absently wiping his mouth with some toilet paper.]

S-sorry, Asch...

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