eswareinmal | Second Verse, Same As The... Or is it the Third? Or Fourth?

Second Verse, Same As The... Or is it the Third? Or Fourth?

Characters: Sayoko, Tachibana, and maybe other folks (presuming she's convinced to leave her room)
Open: Sure!
Where: The Castle, in the Room of Arrival (and then possibly elsewhere)
When: Not long after Hajime and Tachibana arrive
What: Being alive again has been very difficult. Sayoko does not appreciate how much more difficult it seems to have gotten. She's just going to stay in bed.

After her rescue from Elsewhere, Sayoko had retreated to Liminal Space and to the comfort and safety of Tachibana's created rooms. Tired, hungry, rattled, and upset, all she wanted to do was withdraw and rest. So rest she did, curled up in a comfortable bed, with sheets and bedding that reminded her of the exact ones that he'd used back in university...

...only to wake up covered in much fancier sheets, surrounded by high pillars and gauzy curtains. Her first thought is 'what?' and then 'where am I?'... and the sound she makes, when sitting up and finding herself in an ornate pink and white dress, is a fearful whine. Had things changed again? Unexpectedly? Collapsing rooms and driving people out? She didn't understand. She had to try and understand. Which is how she gets up, finds the 'ring bell for answers' bells, takes in the answer that the recording of the king provides... and then she gives up. No. No, she's not doing this again. No more. None of that.

She returns to the bed, gets back in it, and pulls the covers over herself. She is not ready for this, and perhaps if she ignores it, something will snap back into place and everything will be fine again.

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Those particular stalkers cry out plaintively, asking him to stop and wait and just listen... but they're easy to out-pace. They're not following.

"Oi, when're you gonna go see the new Princess, wiz?" There's a young fellow with suspenders and a battered cap that resembles a stable boy leaning against the wall as Tachibana passes, keen on continuing the harassment, though. "She's right down the way!"

Oh for the love of. "I'm not interested in any princess!" Tachibana snapped, voice louder than before. "Don't you have someone else to bother?!"

"Yer not?" The lad looks taken aback, but almost mockingly so. "Look, you don't know when another's gonna come around, and we've been short on princes... you've gotta at least have a look an' see."

"I am not a prince, and I already have someone I'm engaged to!" Tachibana snapped, fists tense at his side and shoulders hunched in as he power walked faster to get away from the annoyance.

That's a lot of angry coming off of one wizard. The lad doffs his hat, gives a shrug and a bow, and lets him storm off. "Your loss!"

And of course as he moves further along there's more muttering from passing castle staff. "She won't come out! Won't even budge..."

"Poor dear... I wonder what's got her spooked?"

That gets him to hesitate a moment, expression softening slightly. Was Sayoko feeling the same way? After everything she had gone through, for them to be torn apart again...!

His fists tightened freshly at his side. He should have stayed in Liminal with her. The hell good did anything do if he kept failing the one person who mattered most?

The muttering gossip continues... but also, there's the click of a doorknob being turned and the faint squeak of a door opening. Easy things to miss, lost in thought like Tachibana is...

"...Sakuya-kun?" Sayoko's voice comes from behind him, small and distant. It... it might not be him, those are some incredibly strange clothes and she's only seeing him from behind, but Ryo had said he was here...

Lost in his emotions as he was, he almost missed the voice, thinking it some guilt-induced memory or hallucination.

When does turn, however, he freezes, eyes going wide. "Sa--Sayoko?!"

A pause. A blink, his mouth open as there's such a quick cascade of emotion that the only thing that emerges from his mouth is:

"...the hell are you wearing?"

He turns, and it's him. It's really him, he was really here and they weren't separated again. She nods, she smiles, her lips part, words temporarily fail her...

"...what am I wearing?" And then she finds them again, a bit offended. She grabs at the trailing skirts of her dress, and counters, "What are you wearing?!" It's a nice dress, she supposes, very trailing and high-waisted and pink and white and silver and flowing... and also not at all something she'd ever worn before.

Another small blink before a single huff of laughter escapes, followed by another and another before he simply smiles, blinking back a few tears as he steps forward, reaching out to pull her in his arms.

Laughter is a contagious thing, and soon she's laughing along with him. It's a sign of relief, too... she starts towards him as best she can, lifting the hem of her dress, and just about melts into his arms once she's there. "...just.. one more crazy thing, isn't it?" She thinks she can handle one more crazy thing if he's there, though.

The tightness of how close he holds her in response speaks volumes, as does the utter relief that slowly sags his shoulders. "Crazier than the normal crazy at that," he agrees, another small laugh escaping as he reaches up to push away some of the excessive fabric of the dress. "The sort of crap everyone wound up wearing alone..."

Her hold upon him remains clingingly close, even with all that fabric in the way. It says so much about how they're both feeling. "So we all get dressed oddly, here? Can... can you still change it, you think?" That was such a nice skill he'd picked up, the ability to change his outfit into whatever he wanted. Maybe he just hadn't thought to use it?

He paused blinking before his expression shifted to a slight frown of concentration.

There was something... His frown deepened as he focused. Something that felt a bit like the fire Zed had shown him how to use... but different. But similar enough to the energy he had become accustomed to reaching for while Traveling, that maybe---

There was a shimmer of fiery red light that rippled over him, echoing how the transform field would, the red robes and ridiculous hat dissolving into sparkles of red light.

The outfit that appeared as the light faded was... still something more out of a renfest, rather than Tachibana's normal, but was closer to what Sayoko would have expected to see him in; sage green vest with deep maroon trim (and an embroidered gold diamond) over a loose faded black shirt and black slacks.

He blinked a few times before shifting to glance down at himself, befuddlement very clearly showing on his face.

The moment the sparkling starts, Sayoko lets go and takes a step back. It hadn't sparkled before, it had simply happened. The end result isn't what she'd have expected, and judging by the look on Tachibana's face, he hadn't expected it, either. "...that's... nice?" Her head tilts, astonishment giving way to curiosity. She steps back in, gently reaching to feel the fabric of the vest.

"This is a different place... so maybe there are different rules."

It's a slightly rough fabric, but, much like the castle around them, seemed a bit more modern than expected at first glance.

"They must be..." Tachibana frowned, shifting to stand closer to her. "It felt.. it was different. Liminal's energy..." he trailed off with a frown, shaking his head. "Whatever this place is, it's not another Jaunt, that much I can say for certain."

She is more than happy to take a step back in and resume the closeness that they'd had happening. Closeness is comforting in times of confusion. "If it's not a jaunt, and you don't seem to be able to work with liminal energy, then.... where are we?" She's quick to add, eyes darting about, "I mean... I saw the explanation. I know that.... but what is this, compared to liminal space or jaunts or..."

"..I'm not sure," Tachibana admitted. "It might... be something else entirely."

Her head dips and comes to rest on his shoulder, and she lets out a soft sigh. "We just aren't meant to have things be stable, are we...?" There's more resignation in her tone than anything else, though. If it's a new mystery, they'll have to solve it. She might not like it... but she'll do it.

His expression softens as he shifts, arm more firmly around her. "Don't talk about it like that," he lightly cided, smiling. "As long as we're together, we can figure it out, right?"

"Right. Right, we can..." She's trying very hard to pull herself together and be positive. A smile's still a smile even if she's having to put effort into smiling it, right? And he's probably just as upset and confused as she is. There's no need to be dragging him down. She lifts her head and turns that best effort of a smile up to him.

"Awwwww...." Why yes, they do have an audience of castle staff that are just peering around the corner and watching them. Why do you ask?

Tachibana all but sags at the reminder of the audience, looking suddenly oh so tired. "Let's get the hell out of his damned place to somewhere quiet," he half muttered, running an aggravated hand through his hair. "If I have to deal with one more of these idiots..."

Sayoko turns her head towards the sound of the 'awww'ing, then leans closer to Tachibana, more than a little alarmed. "...who're they?"

Whoever they are, since they've been caught, they gasp and titter and retreat around the corner, like naughty children having been caught at misbehaving.

"Locals," Tachibana scowled, shifting so that he was holding Sayoko's hand (a little tightly) so that they could start walking. "They've been prattling on about heroes and princesses and similar bullshit since we arrived."

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Second Verse, Same As The... Or is it the Third? Or Fourth?

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