[Well, this is a surprise. And it wouldn't be such an unpleasant one, if it didn't mean that one of the few people who'd recognize him saw that humiliating ordeal. Nonetheless, he gathers Pinsy in his arms and stands to greet the girl with a smile.]
Angel, my dear. I trust you're doing well. And look! You have a new friend! What an adorable little... fox rabbit.
[Pinsy sniffs curiously at Adorababy, then eyes Mari for a few seconds before offering a mewled greeting.]
[Adorababy nosed back, perhaps a little overeager. When he sensed that Pinsy's attention had drifted, he let out a small trill, pawing at Angel's arm in an effort to draw the cat's attention.]
[Angel let out a small laugh and kissed his head.]
Isn't he? His name is Adorababy. A friend of mine traded him to me recently. We have just been out training!
[She gave the man before her a small, rather shy smile. He seemed all the more gallant in person, which made her feel... odd]
[The whine draws back Pinsy's attention, and she finds some entertainment in trying to paw at Adorababy's fluffy tail, though it's well out of her reach.
Anders' mouth pulls into a line which he just barely keeps from turning all the way to a frown.]
I've been... adapting, I suppose.
[Truth be told, with everything going on, he isn't quite certain how he's doing, but he does know that it would be rather inappropriate to bring up any of it.
He glances behind himself a moment, and raises his brows at her. She looks even more fragile in person; enough that he feels guilty for keeping her standing.]
If you have a moment to spare, you're welcome to sit with us.
[Angel raised a brow, noting the neutral, perhaps bordering on troubled, expression on the man's face. She made a note to bring it up later, as soon as they were settled in, and simply gave him a nod in the meantime]
[Moving around him, Angel made for the nearest seat, shifting so that Adorababy could lay on her lap. Mari settled for lounging across Angel's feet, giving a satisfied baa once she was settled in. She gave both creatures a few pets before turning her attention back to the blond]
Tell me about your adaptation? [She had been observing people long to have an eye for distress. Even if she didn't, she figured she'd have at least an idea of his distress -- being planted in such a foreign time had been uneasy for her, she couldn't imagine how it was going for Anders.]
[He takes back his corner seat and releases Pinsy, allowing her to sit where she pleases. She seems a bit irritated that he jostled her at all in the first place, so she opts to lay over the small gap between their chairs, rump just barely brushed against his thigh and head laid on Angel's to look up at Adorababy. She hasn't fully given up on the idea of capturing that fuzzy toy attached to his backside, but for now, she lies in wait.
Hoping he'd deflected the question well enough, Anders is rather disappointed that the subject is posed again. His hands wring together for a moment before he pries them apart and strokes at Pinsy for some comfort.]
The path here was pleasant. I could almost forget that I'm here, if not for the odd creatures and the greenery. The towns are... a bit less intuitive, and the locals don't strike me as very helpful.
I could admit it's more agreeable than home, but... [His brows furrow as he contemplates the argument he and his companion had on the day they arrived, and how unresolved it still feels to him. He doubts it ever will be.] It may boil down to being unsure how to react to this peace.
[The laugh Angel let out was small. She wasn't intending to be patronizing by any means, only agreeable. She'd spent hours listening to gunfire and face-eating -- enough for at least 10 lifetimes. It was odd to go to sleep at night without hearing the digital crackle of a turret through her screens, or the hum of her own machinery.]
I understand that feeling, more than you might know, Anders.
[Angel lowered her hand, offering Pinsy a few scritches to the head, while Adorababy cast a rather worried look at the cat. He couldn't see what the creature was planning, but he felt inexplicably uneasy all the same.]
I wish I could say it gets easier with time but... I haven't been here all that long either. There are nights where it still overwhelms me but... [Angel let out a soft sigh.] I think it is easier than the alternative -- having memories and reminders of the life you used to lead. It is hard to adapt when the monsters that haunt you linger close by.
[Angel shook her head, a sad smile crossing her lips.] I'm sorry. This is meant to be cheerful. We are two friends meeting face-to-face for the first time. This should be a joyous occasion. Forgive me?
[His only initial response is a small nod. He's glad someone is faring well in this strange place, but as usual he can't quite relate. It isn't so easy to forget the monsters of his world when he was one of them, and carries that with him, even here. But he isn't about to bring her down with such ideas -- a resolution that she would appear to agree with.]
There is nothing to forgive. We all mourn and move on in our own ways. I am truly happy for you, Angel. I hope you live a long, happy life here, and I am glad to have met you and to be your friend. It means a great deal to me. [It may not seem like much, with them having only just met, but Anders had figured himself a lost cause at this point as far as friendship goes.]
[Anders words, kind as they were, rubbed her in an unexpected and very wrong sort of way. There was nothing wrong with what he said in particular, only that the sentiment of a long and happy life feeling so... foreign to her. She'd considered the many implications of her apparent rise from the grave, but she'd barely had the time to consider the permanence of her situation.]
[Strange as it all was, Angel managed a shaky, slightly sad smile.]
At the very least, let us hope it is longer than my last.
[Shaking away the last of her sorrow, Angel did what she could to perk up her smile. She reached over, placing a hand over his. It was an intimate gesture, but it felt right in the moment.]
Your friendship means much to me as well. I am only sorry that I cannot ease your own struggles in the way you have eased some of my own. You deserve that, I am sure.
[He can't even begin to imagine when exactly Angel was ripped from her world. She barely looks adolescent to him, but a sense for this sort of thing leads him to the conclusion that she is probably older than she seems, and her body doesn't realize it.
Her touch is gentle; so much so that it's almost unpleasant. It's certainly unfamiliar enough to be bizarre, especially coming from someone he's only just getting to know, but in the end, he welcomes it. This place seems to be bringing to light a desperate thirst for companionship he hadn't even realized he spent most of his life missing.]
I don't expect anything in return. Please don't feel obligated.
[There isn't even argument in his tone, although it's a bit difficult to hold his tongue on the matter of what he deserves. Giving selflessly has simply become second nature.]
You don't understand. [She sighed, fingers squeezing gently against his.] So few people have done right by me in the past. I want to be able to properly celebrate those who do.
[Only one person from the troupe that had "saved" her had come to this world. She'd done what she could to convey her gratitude, but the idea of the five others who had saved her from that hell going unthanked...]
[She would just have to do all she could in order to make up for that.]
So please, you're only helping me by asking for a hand. I promise.
No, I suppose I don't. Still, I don't ask for anything but your friendship, if you are willing to share it.
[He gives a light shrug, turning his hand to hold hers carefully in return. Even Pinsy's attention is drawn, and she, too, bats at their hands with her paw, to Anders' amusement.]
At any rate, I can't think of anything I need at the moment. [At least, nothing that another person could give him.]
[Angel joins him in her laughter, before withdrawing her hand. While the embrace wasn't uncomfortable for her, she wasn't sure she could say the same for him. And given her earlier insistence, she didn't want to overstay her welcome or make him any more uneasy than she already had.]
Should you think of anything, you'll let me know though, right?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
brokencode) wrote2016-08-22 05:17 am
no subject
Angel, my dear. I trust you're doing well. And look! You have a new friend! What an adorable little... fox rabbit.
[Pinsy sniffs curiously at Adorababy, then eyes Mari for a few seconds before offering a mewled greeting.]
no subject
[Angel let out a small laugh and kissed his head.]
Isn't he? His name is Adorababy. A friend of mine traded him to me recently. We have just been out training!
[She gave the man before her a small, rather shy smile. He seemed all the more gallant in person, which made her feel... odd]
[It was like the vault hunters all over again.]
What about you, Anders? Have you been well?
no subject
Anders' mouth pulls into a line which he just barely keeps from turning all the way to a frown.]
I've been... adapting, I suppose.
[Truth be told, with everything going on, he isn't quite certain how he's doing, but he does know that it would be rather inappropriate to bring up any of it.
He glances behind himself a moment, and raises his brows at her. She looks even more fragile in person; enough that he feels guilty for keeping her standing.]
If you have a moment to spare, you're welcome to sit with us.
no subject
[Moving around him, Angel made for the nearest seat, shifting so that Adorababy could lay on her lap. Mari settled for lounging across Angel's feet, giving a satisfied baa once she was settled in. She gave both creatures a few pets before turning her attention back to the blond]
Tell me about your adaptation? [She had been observing people long to have an eye for distress. Even if she didn't, she figured she'd have at least an idea of his distress -- being planted in such a foreign time had been uneasy for her, she couldn't imagine how it was going for Anders.]
no subject
Hoping he'd deflected the question well enough, Anders is rather disappointed that the subject is posed again. His hands wring together for a moment before he pries them apart and strokes at Pinsy for some comfort.]
The path here was pleasant. I could almost forget that I'm here, if not for the odd creatures and the greenery. The towns are... a bit less intuitive, and the locals don't strike me as very helpful.
I could admit it's more agreeable than home, but... [His brows furrow as he contemplates the argument he and his companion had on the day they arrived, and how unresolved it still feels to him. He doubts it ever will be.] It may boil down to being unsure how to react to this peace.
no subject
I understand that feeling, more than you might know, Anders.
[Angel lowered her hand, offering Pinsy a few scritches to the head, while Adorababy cast a rather worried look at the cat. He couldn't see what the creature was planning, but he felt inexplicably uneasy all the same.]
I wish I could say it gets easier with time but... I haven't been here all that long either. There are nights where it still overwhelms me but... [Angel let out a soft sigh.] I think it is easier than the alternative -- having memories and reminders of the life you used to lead. It is hard to adapt when the monsters that haunt you linger close by.
[Angel shook her head, a sad smile crossing her lips.] I'm sorry. This is meant to be cheerful. We are two friends meeting face-to-face for the first time. This should be a joyous occasion. Forgive me?
no subject
There is nothing to forgive. We all mourn and move on in our own ways. I am truly happy for you, Angel. I hope you live a long, happy life here, and I am glad to have met you and to be your friend. It means a great deal to me. [It may not seem like much, with them having only just met, but Anders had figured himself a lost cause at this point as far as friendship goes.]
no subject
[Strange as it all was, Angel managed a shaky, slightly sad smile.]
At the very least, let us hope it is longer than my last.
[Shaking away the last of her sorrow, Angel did what she could to perk up her smile. She reached over, placing a hand over his. It was an intimate gesture, but it felt right in the moment.]
Your friendship means much to me as well. I am only sorry that I cannot ease your own struggles in the way you have eased some of my own. You deserve that, I am sure.
no subject
Her touch is gentle; so much so that it's almost unpleasant. It's certainly unfamiliar enough to be bizarre, especially coming from someone he's only just getting to know, but in the end, he welcomes it. This place seems to be bringing to light a desperate thirst for companionship he hadn't even realized he spent most of his life missing.]
I don't expect anything in return. Please don't feel obligated.
[There isn't even argument in his tone, although it's a bit difficult to hold his tongue on the matter of what he deserves. Giving selflessly has simply become second nature.]
no subject
[Only one person from the troupe that had "saved" her had come to this world. She'd done what she could to convey her gratitude, but the idea of the five others who had saved her from that hell going unthanked...]
[She would just have to do all she could in order to make up for that.]
So please, you're only helping me by asking for a hand. I promise.
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[He gives a light shrug, turning his hand to hold hers carefully in return. Even Pinsy's attention is drawn, and she, too, bats at their hands with her paw, to Anders' amusement.]
At any rate, I can't think of anything I need at the moment. [At least, nothing that another person could give him.]
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Should you think of anything, you'll let me know though, right?
no subject
Of course. And I hope you will do the same, naturally.