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(no subject)

Who: Mikleo + OTA
Broadcast: Voice
Action: Huntress + Iskaulit
When: Today

( a. huntress )

[This place sure is good at getting you complacent and then slamming the door in your face. Mikleo's having a perfectly normal day, playing post-battle catch-up in his room, when Sorey tracks him down to give him the bad news. After that the rest of the day is a write-off; he just can't find the energy to focus on anything but the gut-wrenching loss. Dezel's gone. More than gone home, but rather...

It's hard to think about it, but there's no avoiding the truth. It's something he's been dreading for a long time now- something that's come up in discussions about Zaveid and Eizen. In just a moment, without warning, it could all be over.

Speaking of Zaveid... when he can bring himself to leave Sorey's side, that's his next stop. It'd feel wrong to do this any way but in person.]

( b. voice )

I'm sorry to be the bearer of more bad news- we've had more than our share recently. For those who knew him, Dezel is no longer with us in the fleet.

...while I can't imagine he'd ask for it, if you're so inclined... offer up a prayer in his name. It's how our kind draws strength.

( c. iskaulit )

[Once the hardest parts are done, he starts doing the busy work, so no one else will have to. Step one is to gather up all the creatures Dezel's collected from various planets - the fish, slugs, and lizards - and carry them over to the Iskaulit. The fish go to his water tank, and for a while he watches them flutter about contentedly in their new home amidst the sea greens. After that, he ventures to Edna's mountain to see if they might find a home in all the nature there, though only with Edna's permission. Finally he spends a few hours in the interfaith center, curled up against the seraph altar, idly spinning about the pinwheel. During his whole Iskaulit visit, he's wearing a quasi-replica of Dezel's hat. It takes him a while to get himself home again.]

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They weren't his originally, funny enough. Sora got them from the planet, but when he vanished Dezel took them in. I think he was just as attached to Sora as his animals, but that kid was half a puppy himself.

[Edna looks over her shoulder at Mikleo and snickers.]

I always heard that like is attracted to like. Guess it's true.

In some ways little kids can be like puppies. Loud and excitable, can't sit still most of the time... Sorey was like that. I'm sure Rose was, too... maybe that's why Dezel liked him so much.

Sorey's still like that.

[She leans her head against his shoulder in a very trusting gesture. It's obvious she's comfortable with Mikleo, despite her general disposition.]

Rose too for that matter. What I don't understand is why you have such a problem with dogs.

I'm allowed to have a problem with whatever I like.

[or don't like, in his case. though it's less about not liking dogs and more just wanting them to keep their distance and stop barking.]

Not when your closest companion is a giant, slobbering, overly excited mutt, you're not.

[Of course, Edna doesn't like humans, but she doesn't care about dogs. They're less annoying and a whole lot less malevolence-inducing.]

But, I guess he's sort of cute. For a human.

He doesn't slobber... much.

[though sometimes the kissing can get kinda...

...yeah he's not gonna tell her that, ugh.]

You should tell him that. I'm sure he'd like the high praise.

I've seen him in his sleep.

[She can guess about the kissing. Gross, by the way. Very gross.]

No, his head is already big enough. I don't want him to start acting like Zaveid. One is too much.

Hah, that's true. But I won't ever let him get that bad.

[it's kind of their job to make sure his ego is kept in check.]

You coddle him. I can't trust you.

[Pot. Kettle. Something. Something.]

But, he's...getting better.

All thanks to the watchful eyes of his strict and doting seraphim.

[it's their job to keep him in line, after all!]

That's the only way to keep the humans in line. And you know it.

[And she's going to make sure that Sorey doesn't screw up.]

Not all of them are as practical as Rose or as stupidly pure as Alisha and Sergei.

Sorey falls somewhere in between the two. We sure picked a handful.

[well, "picked". some of them were sort of pulled into it one way or another.]

Maybe you had a choice.

[She shoulder bumps him before turning her attention back on her pets.]

But it could definitely be worse. Sorey's gotten better, and we can toughen up Alisha.

[He accepts the bump without complaint, instead leaning into it and calling up a bit of water into his palm, which he offers out to one of the lizards for a drink. He's not terribly big on their kind - he's a snob who prefers softer things - but they're pretty cute.]

I think she's well on her way. Traveling with Rose and getting the chance to be a proper Squire again did wonders for her, and here she can help us keep Sorey in line.

[She sees you playing with the rainbow lizards, Meebo. It's cute.]

Well, if it hadn't been for the fact that Sorey was going blind the first time and her having other things to do the second, I'm sure we could have had more to do with the real toughening up of her than just sort of watching it happen. But, you know, it could be worse.

It's fortunate that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. At least not so far.

[Though now that she's brought it into his mind-]

He hasn't shown any signs as far as you've seen, right?

[He assumes he'd notice first considering his usual proximity to Sorey, but it doesn't hurt to ask.]

[She looks up at him with a blank expression.]

No, he just seems like Sorey. Maybe a little slower now because Dezel's gone, but he's the same.

You're overthinking this, Mikleo.

I'm not-- I'm just trying to make sure we have proper safeguards! Slacking off and not sharing these concerns is what caused it to happen in the first place.

[He'd been worried about Sorey for far too long before he actually brought it up to anyone, and by then it was too late.]

You spend more time with him than I do.

[But, honestly, if she'd noticed something was off about Sorey. She's watching him.]

If you want, I can make him carry me around for a while so I can watch him more carefully.

...You... you can do whatever you want. If you're not worried, then I'll try not to be.

[But yeah, he would actually appreciate that, if she's so inclined.]

I might do that a little more often, myself. If nothing else he'd probably like the company.

[She pokes him in the ribs.]

It's okay to be worried about him. I mean, he's not just your vessel, is he?

But, I'm pretty sure he'd like someone to sit there with him in his soul and just keep him company.

Mm... yeah, you're right. He needs someone to look after him most of the time, anyway.

[It's... dual-purpose! And he doesn't have to say that there's something incredibly comforting about resting within a pure vessel. He never used to think about it much back in Elysia, but now he's learned of the difference between vessel and domain. Both have their benefits, and while he does miss the soothing familiarity of Gramps' protection, there's nothing quite like melting back into Sorey's presence.]

So do you.

[She does appreciate being with Sorey, even if she's not vocal about it. Having a vessel after living so long with a malevolence so strong as Eizen's is one of the better things she's experienced. It helps that he doesn't ask her to do anything she doesn't want and that he listens to what she says, even if she has to abuse him a bit.]

But, you know, watching you both is a full-time job.

[HEY.]

I don't remember asking you to watch me.