Catching Up

Catching Up
Date of Scene:	22 January 2013
Location:	Traverse Town - VALKYRI HQ
Synopsis:	Angantyr and Avira do some much needed catching up in light of a plethora of recent events.
Cast of Characters:	Avira, Angantyr Vespar

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Avira has posed:
Angantyr's new home...it looks homier every day and it does have the benefit of not being inside a damn sewer. The VALKYRI headquarters was never really intended as a place to spend more than one night or a few moments holding a meeting. It mostly reflects that, lacking a proper kitchen or even proper rooms to sleep in. Over the past few weeks that has changed.

A damn nice bathroom was the first order of business. Then beds and the like. It'd been pretty simple so far since, filled with girls, there wasn't really any need for segregation. TRON...well, TRON was different. Did he even need to sleep? Angantyr...

Angantyr meant that Avira had to set up a room for him, even though she strongly suspects he WOULD NOT MIND sharing a bed. In one corner, there is a room constructed of portable walls, meant to house a stack of matresses and blankets that would serve as his bed. It's effectively a man cave amongst the VALKYRI.

Agitated by the premiere for the Hades Cup she witnessed last night, Avira paces back and forth in the main hall. One of her hands holds a strange cube, arcane markings scrawled across it, which she tosses up and down in her hand.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
The doors of VALKYRI HQ open, revealing the warn Dark Knight, as he steps through and pulls off his helmet.

He puts the helmet over one hand as he walks through the building to the main meeting room. His body was not only covered by the armor, but a cloak recently, screaming of desert travel, as opposed to normal ware. He pauses, looking towards Avira for a moment, frowning, before placing the helmet down on a nearby table and walks towards her.

"Something wrong?" he asks, suddenly, "There is a lot going on lately, don't tell me something else came up that is going to screw everything up?" Angantyr shakes his head as he rumbles the words out. "I would have liked to stay here more, but it seems I am getting quite a bit of money in Flurogis right now...honestly, I am not sure what is going on there. First the heartless...and now monsters, normal monsters, are flooding in. Hell. INTELLIGENT monsters at that...well as intelligent as they get." Angantyr says.

He pauses, looking at his Ma Belle, "Or is this about what happened last night? I caught most of it on my Ma Belle."

Avira has posed:
"Angantyr!" Avira exclaims, nonetheless a little relieved to see the dark knight. They both really had been so busy lately thanks to the sheer amounts of TROUBLE each other managed to get in. The huntress tosses her puzzle-looking cube thing onto one of the beds lining the walls and walks to him, meeting him halfway.

"That tournament mostly. The prize is a piece of Manhattan so it's..." she hesitates a little, "...important that we can win it. I've heard about Fluorgis too..made some pretty good money dealing with an infestation at their water plant."

She wrinkles her nose, "...at the expense of being turned into a frog. It's an easily curable affliction, it turns out, with the right people. Bet you can guess what~"

She turns away from him and looks to the 'room' for Angantyr in the corner. "I think I might save some of the money to hire some contractors, give this place a kitchen. ....oh..."

Avira wraps her arms around herself, sounding a little...haunted? "I met with a Judge Magister...hoped to somehow negotiate your sentance away."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr laughs a little at the frog comment. "Well, did you get your princess or prince to kiss you? Or did someone actually have a Maiden's Kiss on hand?" Angantyr was smart enough to have the license for that. For a moment he considers this, "Well, the frog condition sucks a bit, but it's not the worst thing that can happen. Try being petrified sometime." he shudders. Avira might gather why he hates Basalisks so much.

"So that's what it was...I see. A piece of Manhattan, I am not sure how useful it will be given it's state, but at least it'll keep the Shadow Lords from it...I still can not see the logic in their actions." he shakes his head as he sucks in a breath at the Magister comment.

"There was no need to do it...not only did it put you at risk, should they decide to use you as bait for me...but they wouldn't change their mind. Honestly, this was only a matter of time...and better to do it on my terms than theirs..." he pauses..

"Did something happen, Avira? You look like you seen a ghost." he says, moving to put a hand on her shoulder.

Avira has posed:
"Well, rather, we had some maidens to do some kissing. Fortunately, that was good enough to work since we didn't have any royalty on hand." Makes her wonder about curing Prince Naveen! Maybe that little item from the World of Ruin could solve the curse easily?

Likely not. Voodoo magic was complex!

"Ohhhh...petrification is something I hope to never experience." Avira shares the shudder. "-yeah, that, though I'm a little annoyed that it's being used to sell a new television network." Man, television. That was something Avira thought she'd end up missing terribly when the world was destroyed...and wound up not missing it at all.

Avira turns around to face Angantyr, a fierce look in her eyes. "No. I had to try. I don't want you living the life of a hunted man." She rests her hands on her hips and looks him in the eye, "And we both know that they would have to subdue me first to be bait! But you are right about one thing." She looks sad, "They won't change their mind. If they catch you, they will put you to death."

After saying that, Avira's actually quiet for a long moment, "The Judge Magister that came to meet me...he was the same one that conquered your nation."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr nods slowly, turning away from her for a moment.

"Gabranth." He rumbles a bit, "If he had wanted to capture you, then Avira, he would have little trouble. Gabranth is a dark knight that is powerful, it is hard to say which one of us is powerful..." he shrugs. "But he is a cold man, ruthless and uncaring. He only exists to be the dog of the empire."

Angantyr turns back towards Avira, is face a mask of calm, "Of course they won't change their mind. They were waiting for this, they know and I know that I would eventually strike at them. Gabranth isn't just my enemy...the whole goddamn nation is. Every single one of them. Blindly following orders without thought to what it means to those conqured...they say they bring culture, but they do nothing but stomp out the pride traditions already there." It burns in Angantyr, he turns...clutching his hands, "More then that...my MEN died as nothing more than a sacrfice on the alter to Arcadia. An example..."

"I want nothing more than remove Arcadia completely."

Avira has posed:
Avira continues to look up at him. Up, since Angantyr is quite tall compared to her! Funny how she was always surrounded by such tall guys. "He didn't do anything untoward to me, Angantyr nor do I think he has any desire to capture me. The Judge Magister is not unaware of our connection either." A small laugh escapes her and she reaches up, trying to turn his head back to her with a hand, "Funny, he even called himself a hound of the Empire."

Though he has a mask of calm now, Avira can see it slowly slipping away as he rails against the empire that destroyed his home. "Angantyr..." she says, sounding slightly nervous, but refusing to shrink away from him. She's nothing to fear from the Dark Knight. In a way, this reminded her of Gabranth and how, despite her pleading, he was intent on carrying out the enforcement of the law and making Angantyr answer for his crime. Unstoppable force, meet unmovable object.

It's actually quite unsurprising. She told the judge as much-that Angantyr would not negotiate his sentence away. "Then you must be careful to not get caught. I do not know if Archadia's arm can reach this far into Traverse Town, but I'd be cautious still."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"It is unlikely that they'd bother to come after me at this point. While the list of people who have gotten away with assaulting a Judge Magister is small, they no doubt have more important things to deal with right now," Angantyr tries to reassure Avira, even as he's forced to look back at her. He releases a sigh, "I'm fine...it's fine." he says to her. It DOES bother him...a lot of things weigh down on him, but he lets it go after a moment.

"Something else you should know." He pauses, "I about had Gabranth. Really...really had him. A boy named Riku stepped in on his behalf." he pauses, "A boy who I fear did not do so out of the kindness of his heart. I don't know who's pulling his strings, but I can take a few guesses...given how strong his darkness is." He thinks.

"You'd be best be careful if you get involved with getting the shard back. I fear things are going to get complicated very fast as these empires and alliances start springing up."

Avira has posed:
"You better be right, Angantyr." Avira gives him an arch look, holding his gaze now that she's turned his face back to look at her. "Because if they do capture you, mind you, I will not hesitate to break you out of their dungeons before your sentence is fulfilled." Just by looking at him, she can easily tell that it's not fine. That's actually good, for if he really felt nothing about all of this, he'd be quite the psychopath.

Surprise, follows, though, at the mention of Riku. "He's one of the Shadow Lords. He has his own agenda." Though perhaps it was better that Angantyr did not get the chance to actually kill the Judge Magister. Then they would likely try to kill her Dark Knight on sight.

Avira laughs nervously and lets her hand fall away from Angantyr. If only he knew just how complicated this already was for her. "Of course, Angantyr! Don't worry, I won't be doing this alone. In fact, if you had the time, I wouldn't mind your help too."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"I'd love to...but. Well, think about this. This stuff is broadcast to the worlds as they are.." he lets it hang there, he was sure she was smart enough to pick up on what he ment.

"Wait...he's a shadowlord?" Angantyr pauses...he turns and looks to sit down on something, in his own thoughts for a moment. "Then.." he pauses and trying to wrap his head around this... "Either Garland sent him, trying to earn a favor from the Arcadian, another Shadow Lord wants the favor...or..." he frowns again, "Gabrant Might already be one. None of these things boad well for anyone...anyway, things are getting complicated already." he considers these things.

"Also, I'm sure you'd try." he smiles at her, "Maybe you'll suceed. Though to be honest, without someone great at subterfuge and master of disguise, I feel it'd be a fools errand for you to do it yourself. I'd doubt MY chances at brute forcing it.."

Avira has posed:
"...oh, yeah, that's right." Avira sighs, "Damn, it would be perfect to have you with me. We work so well together. And you're really strong. I guess it's up to me to be the famous one." Unfortunately, exposed to the world, the Archadians would know exactly where to find him.

Avira slowly nods. Angantyr will have his pick of cots and beds to sit down on-the closest, if he so desires, being the bed that Avira had tossed the puzzle cube onto. "Or he could be acting on his own too." Or whatever...strange thing inside of him that influenced the events at Manhattan. "Gabranth? A Shadow Lord? He...hardly seemed like the type that would align with them, based on my meeting, to be honest. Maybe Archadia has yet to fall in with them?"

Avira's clearly a lot more optimistic about alliances than he is.

The smiling and the reference to 'trying' earns him a pout. "'Maybe'? Hmph! Well fortunately for you, I /do/ know a few such individuals." Slipping over to him, she playfully shoves his big armored chest...likely to no effect. It's like shoving a wall. "Do have a little more faith in me!"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Well, if you DO get a team together, I can at least help you train. I think that'd give you good odds on winning." Angantyr smirks. Angantyr is pragmatic, and smarter than he looks, you have to wonder sometimes if not for the baggage he carries, how great of a tactician he'd be. And how much of that is natural talent, and how much is...Garland.

"It's possible, but I've learned to look at alliances where people don't see them. It's possible...he's impulsive...but still.." Angantyr sighs, "He's so young...too young to get caught up in this <GOOSEHONK>. It's almost like a mirror, except that I was a lot older when I got brought into all of this..."

Angantyr doesn't move at her push, smirking as she dishes out her foux anger, he moves a arm around her shoulders and leans in, "Oh you do huh? Well, maybe I'll think about having a bit more faith...maybe." he smirks. "Besides, what makes you think I'd stay in prison?"

Avira has posed:
"I have some ideas. We need to qualify first." Though Avira suspects that she herself doesn't have to qualify. Hades could pull some strings and get her in automatically. At the same time, though, she kind of wanted to prove herself to Phil. Cheating her way into qualifying felt...unnecessary. "But I would love to have your help."

Avira looks down, "It's kind of unfair that young people have to deal with all of this. It forces them to grow up all at once. At least us adults have our childhood behind us. I'm not sure how I would have turned out if I had endured this during it instead." Though as she speaks, Avira realizes that Angantyr didn't exactly have the best of childhoods.

Now Avira leans in at him to the point where their foreheads are almost touching, which makes it really easy for him to get that arm around her shoulders. "Yeah!" she huffs, "Yeah I do!" Oooh that teasing! Though a part of her really does hope that she'd be able to do /something/ for him one day. "You said it yourself, brute forcing your way out of Archadian prison might not cut it~"

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"There is one thing I can do that You can't." he says, looking right into her eyes, "One thing that you'll never be able to do...and probably are better for it." he says simply.

"Qualify huh...sounds like an ordeal." he considers, and sighs a bit. "Yeah...even as rough as mine was, I did have some bright spots...I did love my home, I just didn't have fond memories of my family." Angantyr says with a small smile. It's not something he does often on reflection of the past.

He brushes some of the hair out of her face, "Heh...your beautiful when you're determined." he pauses, and frowns despite himself. "...So...I think maybe this bridge needs to be crossed."

Avira has posed:
Ah, right.

His portals.

"...very true." Avira murmurs, "I will never be able to do that and I honestly don't feel so bad about it." Those portals hurt. The less time she spent in them, the better.

The smile doesn't go unnoticed and it strikes her as downright unusual. She's never heard him reflect upon his past fondly. "You must." she says softly, perhaps coming to this realization at this very second, "If you want to avenge it so badly."

If their exchange could be likened to a flowing piece of music, the final subject that is stumbled upon brings it to a screeching halt for Avira. "Yes. Yes it should." Avira straightens a little but doesn't pull away, leaving her brown hair resting in his fingers. "You feel pretty strongly about me and I really should have figured it out sooner."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"You're pretty dense on these matters, I'm afraid." Angantyr teases, "I've thought I'd been clear, buuuuut perhaps it's a culture clash....not being from my world and all." Angantyr is surprisingly understanding when he wants to be. He's a man of many contridictions, but these ones are the least of his problems.

"What about you? What do you feel about all of this, because ultimately that is what it comes down to."

"And before you make a choice, know that whatever...whoever you chose, it won't change our relationship." He takes a moment to pause...

"I'm not the jealous type, I'm not going to hound you down with my feelings. Ultimately, I'd rather see you free, to make your own choices. To try and control that would remove the very part of you I love the most." He smiles, "Freedom is one of the most important things to me."

Avira has posed:
"Hey, I did get it! Eventually. When you propositioned me." Avira goes bright red at the memory...which was pretty much how she reacted once she figured out the offer to join him in bed. "I mean, there were signs before but I'm...rather wary of reading into things too much and getting the wrong impressions."

The blush doesn't fade. "That's the hard part, Angantyr. I'm very fond of you too but...I feel this for two other guys also." That blush turns into a look of shame. "So I'm still trying to decide. It's unfair for all of you and I'm afraid I-"

'Whoever you choose, it won't change our relationship.' 'I'm not the jealous type.'

Both bring surprise to Avira's face. "Really? Though I did suspect the latter when I caught the tail end of your conversation with Mercade." Avira moves forward and she puts her arms around his neck, hugging him. "You're important to me, Angantyr. It's your strength and drive I've aspired to since coming to Ivalice."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr gives her a firm hug back. "Heh, you're important to me too. Rather it's love or deep friendship...you've reminded me a great deal of what's important. For a long time I thought the light turned it's gaze from me...but it's not the case at all. I turned my gaze from it, and it took some good friends to remind me about all of this."

"Well, as with your..." he pauses, "Three? Me, that guy from Merlin's tower...and..." he pauses, "Oh no. Not...the guy mixed in with the Gaudy Lords?"

Avira has posed:
Avira...doesn't choose to pull away for a few seconds, just remaining in that hug. Maybe she's testing something. She still had to decide, after all, and in spite of Angantyr's words that was still not something she personally looked forward to.

"There's still light inside you, Angantyr. You might be a fount of darkness, but even that can't drown it out. I see it every day, still there and waiting."

The shame doesn't leave though. Three! She should have decided, right? "Skoll. His name is Skoll. Though I am reminded...he is here, healing, so we need to keep an eye out for those other two monsters I warned you about earlier." There's a pause before she continues, "That one sister you killed believed you were my boyfriend."

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
"Interesting." Angantyr says, to what Avira says.

"Alright, though his affairs are only my affairs if the sisters decide they want revenge...and they always do." Angantyr says with a smirk, "Reguardless...a complication I wasn't expecting, but one I won't back down from. I don't care much for those who toy with life as friviously as they do." He comments with a slow tone.

"Yes yes, I am constantly reminded about this, Avira. You, Maira, Jasmine, and now apparently these little girls...Emi and Imi apparently claim that I am 'not so bad'. Ugh, I swear, with you people I'm never going to be able to keep my reputation as a bad <GOOSEHONK>."

He doesn't pull appart from the embrace either, letting it linger for a moment. "I'll stick around for the moment then, until he is healed, unless of course an emergancy happens in the desert town." He says, "And stop feeling bad, matters of the heart are never easy. Though in hinesight they are easier than you think. That is the trick about it..." he laughs a little.

He pulls her chin into his hand and looks into her eyes, "What matters is how you feel, right now."

Avira has posed:
"If they do come..." Avira says quietly in a rare show of vulnerability. "...I hope you're there to fight them. As I am right now, I'm not strong enough to fend one off on my own." Indeed, Avira actually seems a little afraid, which was rare for someone who had endeavored to charge headfirst into danger repeatedly.

She laughs. "Oh, the Dennous. Don't worry, Angantyr, I don't think your reputation as a badass is going to diminish anytime soon. Especially if you keep picking fights with the likes of, say, Judge Magisters."

She looks relieved when he says he'd stick around (unless something pops up in Fluorgis, which it likely will) to fend off whatever 'Gaudy Lords' may come. "W-well, I-!" The shame begins to leave, leaving Avira in the typical flustered state Angantyr has previously agreed upon being 'cute'.

He takes her chin and Avira looks him in the eyes, falling silent. Amongs the conflict, there is desire to be found in those eyes of hers.

Angantyr Vespar has posed:
Angantyr looks at her for a long moment, a moment that seems to last forever for both of them.

Angantyr handle these matters much like he handles most matters in his life, being direct. Less brutal in this case, he doubts that she'd enjoy THAT much.

Without another word he leands forward, aiming to draw her into a perfect disney moment, because the camera obviously pans away, unless she does something to stop the moment.

Avira has posed:
Due to previous mind games of a past soured relationship, direct honestly was met with refreshing welcome.

Avira sees the moment coming.

She does absolutely nothing to stop it.