[ it's too far away. ]

[arcanepower]

Who: Belthazar & open
Broadcast: Yes
Action: Bishop
When: 8/18, morning

[video;]

[Belth awakens with a gasp like he hasn't breathed for a while. That isn't true, exactly, but he's just had a very long and very strange dream in which he was home. For all intents and purposes, he thinks he was home... after several years, and the crumpled Sunreaver robes at the end of his bed attest to it.]

Adra?

[His voice is small and still.]

... ah.

[... He's gone. Belth has already done his share of inconsolable crying, but he wants to cry again knowing that he's back here and Adrasteius is not. He squeezes his eyes shut until the tightness in his throat subsides, and then he sits up.

Belth is a mess. His hair is disheveled more than usual, and he's wearing nothing but black pants. His skin is entirely pale and mostly unblemished, but there's a glimpse of an intricate tattoo on his back as he leans over to put a long-sleeved black shirt on.

As he glances around, he realizes... there's a light indicating that he's being recorded. He practically howls in frustration and slams the off button--

-- only to turn it on a minute later.]

I went home... I think. This place is very strange. [He rubs his head.] It feels like years, but it's only been a few days. It will take some getting used to.

All of my belongings appear to be in order, but if I find a book missing, I will be very upset.

[action;]

[Belth can be visited in his room or found huddled in the personnel room as per usual. Things must be back to normal if he's hiding beneath books, right?

Probably.]

Comments

[video]

[thebarkside]

[ oh, no. jade knows that look, is pretty sure she knows that sensation, and so it takes her a second before she decides how she wants to arrange her expression before she flips the feed on. ]

Welcome back. Would you still like some herbs?

[arcanepower]

[He blinks at her a moment, as if trying to place her face. Oh, right.]

That would be... very good, actually. I need a new project.

[thebarkside]

Well... just come over to the Wonderduck when you've oriented yourself a little more, okay? We'll see how much I can help you. Just send me a message when you're on your way.

[arcanepower]

Okay. ... Thank you, Jade.

[Maybe he'll make her some cookies or something.]

[ino]

[ Oh no, baby. :(

She'll give him a little bit to collect himself before she pops on over to the Bishop, wandering into the personnel room to see if he's there ... ]

[arcanepower]

[At this point he's basically given up. He's actually hiding beneath a beanbag. The only thing giving him away is the ears. His face is, of course, buried in a book... though he appears to be clinging to it more than reading it.]

[ino]

[ Oh my god.

She's coming on over and crouching down to where he's hiding ]

... You're awake.

[arcanepower]

[He sets the book on his head.]

No.

[He sounds so petulant.]

[ino]

[ It's so like him, even though he's apparently been gone for years, that she has to smile a little. And she'll reach over to lift up the book so she can see his face ]

No? Are you sleepwalking right now, then?

video;

[princessia]

[ Watching Belthazar wake up reminds her a lot of the sensation she felt when she went back home. Years, though? That's much longer than when she was back at Rieze Maxia. ]

Belthazar? You got to go home too? [ A look of concern. ] Are you okay?

video;

[arcanepower]

[His ears perk when he sees Elize, then kinda... flatten against his hair. Being among people he likes again reminds him of how lonely his 'real' life was.]

H-- hey. [If his voice cracks a little, don't worry about it. PUBERTY WHY.] Yes, I went home, just like you did.

[He frowns and looks away.]

If I had known what would happen, I would have wanted to stay. Ugh.

video;

[princessia]

[ Sometimes she thinks the same, about knowing what would happen if she returned home. But falling into that mysterious slumber is beyond their control.

She's reluctant to speak, but she brings herself to further question him. ]

...Was it bad, back home?

video;

[arcanepower]

[It is beyond his control, but that's not gonna stop him from sulking a bit before he picks up the pieces and moves on.]

It was. So much strangeness and... chaos... and war. So many people dead because of one man's greed. There were good things, but not many.

[His fingers curl around the hems of his sleeves.]

I have to start all over... again.

Action

[preformthisneigh]

[Cheese has been visiting Belth's room every day, leaving a balloon each time, letting them gather like little floating watchdogs. He has one as he arrives on his daily check up, but seeing Belth awake makes him let go of the string, letting it float up to the ceiling.

The pony has seen enough of these kinda of deep sleeps in Paradisa to know the drill, which is why he's trying not to be overly excitable as he trots over to him.]

Hey buddy. It's good to see you up and about again. Has us worried for a little while, there, right Boneless Two?

[The rubber chicken says nothing, staring into the empty void as always. ]

[arcanepower]

[Belth is still getting his bearings when the pony walks in.]

Boneless--

[Aaand then his foot catches on a string. Which tangles with another. And before you can say 'cheese', there goes Belthazar, tangled in at least three balloons and regretting his life choices. MAN DOWN! MAN DOWN!

He lands face first, because of course he does, and he just lays there for a moment.]

I thought I grew out of that.

[preformthisneigh]

[Cheese gives an impressed whistle, leaning over to try and free Belth from his baloon-y prison. Which isn't easy when you haven't got fingers. ]

Looks like you didn't. I take it you went home for a while? [He'll chop through a balloon string. ]

I guess that happens here, too.

[arcanepower]

[He draws himself back onto his knees, and takes a moment to disentangle a balloon string from around his arm.]

A few years. Long enough to see my dreams crushed and myself exiled for a murder I did not commit.

Video

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Although they had met only once aboard the Nunnalis ship, Wanda still felt inclined to reach out to the young man who had constructed that beautiful shrine. He had certainly struck her as a kind person at their meeting, and from the sound of his message he seemed distressed.]

Belthazar? Are you okay?

Video

[arcanepower]

[For a brief second, he thinks the dark-haired girl on the broadcast is someone else. His breath catches.]

I-- I'm unhurt. There is a lingering sense of cold and unease, like my limbs have recently fallen asleep.

Re: Video

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[She catches his reaction to seeing her, and is a little confused by it. Sure, they'd met before but his reaction suggested something beyond that.]

What happened?

[arcanepower]

[He isn't quite comfortable with spilling out his life story just yet. He looks down.]

Many things happened. There was a war. Someone close to me died. I... tried to kill someone to prove I was ready to fight. I couldn't. I found a home, but then I ended up here again.

Has it really only been a few days? It has been years for me.

video

[serves]

Just like Elize, then. This place seems to be on an upswing.

video

[arcanepower]

[Ugh. He's right, though.]

I hate being jerked around.

video

[serves]

Welcome to life on the fleet.

video

[arcanepower]

I know that, but I don't have to like it. [He gives Cullen a nice glare, made slightly creepy by his burning green eyes.] I spent several long, arduous months in another place before this. While it is nice not being forced into a war or starved beyond recognition, it doesn't make me want to accept imprisonment.

You can be complacent if you wish, but I will not.