Twenty-Ninth Flare - Video - ...

[prominence_glow]

[It's always so funny how everything seems to start out so normal.

He wakes up. Shoves Asi and Arden off of his bed, tries to figure out how the hell Alex got into his room again. There's the sleepy stumble to the bathroom, where he takes a shower hot enough to scorch and then brushes his teeth and styles his hair, which is really getting way too long by this point. The way to the kitchen is filled with almost stumbling over his fluffy little friends, but by that point he's more awake and just laughs.

Breakfast gets cooked, like always. Lots of eggs and oranges. It's when he calls Stein's name and hears it echo in the house that he realizes something might be wrong.

Lea tries to stay calm. Tries to tell himself that Stein can't have been kidnapped again, Stein wouldn't go off and hurt anyone this soon because-

His name is missing on the SFC.

In that moment as he just stares silently at the screen, Lea feels like he's quietly suffocating, or drowning, or being weighed down with an incomparable weight, only without any of the panic that could be associated with such things. His chest hurts. His chest hurts a lot. Feeling detached, he puts the the SFC down and starts to walk down the hallway to Stein's room.

For once, neither Chocobo or Pokemon trips him up.

As he opens the closet door, Lea can't really say what he's doing, or why. It's stupid and childish. It's embarrassing. But for once, how he appears to other people... It doesn't matter. He just awkwardly shrugs on one of Stein's unique, stitched-up labcoats and wraps it tight around himself. It smells like cigarette smoke, and doesn't quite fit, meant for someone taller and more muscular and smarter than himself. Lea doesn't take it off.

Eventually, after a long while of just standing there, wrapped up in a labcoat, he realizes something. So he heads to the lab in the basement.]

Morning.

[When the SFC turns on, Lea is sitting backwards on a certain wheeled office chair. His arms are crossed over the back, and his chin rests on them. He's still wearing Stein's coat. While he looks as healthy as ever, somehow, he manages to look very worn down. There are no physical signs, but there's just something in how dull his eyes look.

Otherwise, his face is neutral. No real emotion. The same can be said for his voice, quiet and calm. Like usual for Stein's lab, the light flickers on and off sporadically. Lea couldn't bring himself to fix it.]

If you check your communicators today, you'll probably notice that Professor Franken Stein is no longer in Vatheon. If you had any business with him, you can take it up with me. My name's Lea.

For those of you who remember, he had a small group of chocobos on his property. I will also be taking care of those. If you have any chicks you took off of his hands, I can answer questions about those. If the chocobos here breed, I'll also tell everyone about them.

[So far, there's only one egg. But he doesn't plan on telling anyone about that. It's his. His and Stein's. At that moment, he blinks his eyes very rapidly a few times before finishing.]

I think that's all. Thanks.

[And the feed ends.]

Comments

[Video]

[toomanypetals.livejournal.com]

[Oh.]

[Oh well. Uh.]

[Kanda...isn't entirely sure what to make of this. It's not like he particularly liked Stein, but... but somehow, it feels like he'll miss him.]

...You okay?

[Video]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

_{[...It takes a while for an answer to come.]}

No. I'm not.

[Video]

[toomanypetals.livejournal.com]

[Well, he supposes it was a stupid question.]

...Need some company?

[Video]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

I have company.

_{[Large, feathery, warm company.]}

...I thought I'd have more time. I always do.

[Video]

[toomanypetals.livejournal.com]

Hn. At least you know he wasn't kidnapped again.

video;

[ninthserenade.livejournal.com]

<sub>[Deep down inside, part of Demyx laughs. His crueler side. Another part lets out a breath of relief--No more worries.

But the part of him that is still him, still Myde, wants nothing more than to find Lea right now and keep an eye on him.]</sub>

...You okay, dude?

video;

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

...No.

_{[Lea's face sinks down further into his arms, and his body gives one harsh shake. There's finally something to his voice- choked and weak.]}

No. I'm not.

video;

[ninthserenade.livejournal.com]

You... Want me to come over there?

video;

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

Please.

[video; private]

[got-it-memorizd.livejournal.com]

You know, I think I've got a spare ice cream bar with your name on it. It comes with or without company, your choice.

[video; private]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

...Okay. Where?

[video; private]

[got-it-memorizd.livejournal.com]

[Faint grin.]

The usual spot? [It'd be the first time they went to the forest to not yell at each other, but it's as good a place as any.] Unless you'd prefer somewhere with some altitude, which is also fine with me.

[video; private] - [action]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

...Okay. The park 'n' forest.

See you soon, I guess...

_{[Click goes the feed. And Lea arrives there soon enough, being trailed by his small army of Chocobos, plus one Eevee. Stitch coat? Still on. He is also holding a very large egg close to his chest.]}

Video;

[myowncourse.livejournal.com]

Uh, I don't know who this Stein was but... I'm sorry for your loss. It's... hard when somebody leaves.

[Yeah, he knows all about that.]

... Was he that doctor you mentioned before?

Video;

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

...He could come back. But... I know lots of people don't.

_{[Isa was a lucky chance. He wants to believe that maybe Stein will too, and everything will be okay. He might even believe again in an hour, or something. Just... not now.]}

Yeah.. Yeah, he was. He had his issues, but.. He really was a good person. He was always there for me when something tough happened. An' he always seemed to know how to help.

Video;

[myowncourse.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

[He hesitates for a moment, before switching to private. He wants to help Lea out, but he's not about to spill his secret on the street.]

Listen... someone once left me too. I know nothing I'm gonna say here is gonna make it better. Nothing no one can say will. But if you wanna talk or anything, I'm okay with that.

Video; private

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

...We'd... We'd just gotten over this argument. [That's putting it lightly, but no need to bring up any gory details.] We had something planned. It was this thing from his homeworld, this way of completely getting to know someone, and...

...He was closed off. He never... Y'know, he was just one of those people. It was complicated, but he never had too many people, and I just wanted to help him once, 'cuz he was always helping me and... and..

_{[Don't mind him. He's just choking up.]}

[video/locked]

[witchbuster.livejournal.com]

[This seems a bit awkwaaaard and...he seems sad, too, so she'll just go ahead and make the feed private.]

Hi, Lea, I'm Maka.

...You're a friend of Professor Stein's, aren't you? I think he told me about you once. I'm really sorry about him leaving. I'll miss him, too.

[video/locked]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

Maka... Right, I remember. He... He said you were a really good student.

_{[No he is not on the verge of crying and just curling up for the rest of the day, no, that is not happening. It just isn't. Lea's not sure if he could manage it anyway. Half of him feels empty and worn down, and the other half makes him feel like he's going to shatter.]}

Yeah, we're... We're morails. S'a troll thing, like partners and best friends and everything else. But that's, that's a trust thing, and we were going to do soul resonance someday, but... [He tries to smile and he looks like he's killing himself inside.] Not... Not gonna happen.

[video/locked]

[witchbuster.livejournal.com]

I know about moirails, Karkat explained them pretty well.

[Lea, you better keep those spirits up or Maka will shonen protagonist you into submission.] So, Professor Stein was teaching you about some of the things we do back home? I know we've only just started talking and--well--I could probably never be on the trust level he was, but I can try and pick up where he left off!

...If you want.

[video/locked]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

_{[Lea is quiet for a few moments as he thinks this over and tries to calm himself down. Finally, he nods.]}

That'd... That'd be great, actually. Back, um, back during that curse when... I wasn't myself. I could- I mean, I think I could see souls. But maybe I was hallucinating or something. It's...

It's kind of hazy.

[pristinestar.livejournal.com]

Lea...

[His eyes fall for a moment, then just as quickly raises back up. Another one left.]

I'm sorry.

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I am too.

[pristinestar.livejournal.com]

[Oh, Lea...]

... If you ever need help with taking care of the Chocobos, I wouldn't mind. I'd love to know more about them, too. [And keep Lea company as well. He'd like that just the same.]

[prominence-glow.livejournal.com]

That'd be...

_{[Breathe, Lea. Breathe.]}

That'd be nice. Yeah. They'd... They'd like to meet you.