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[bloodandblunder]

"H... hello? Um, this is me-- ah, Noire! I'm Noire, and I'm very sorry for missing you somehow... I promise I'm not avoiding you, unless you're scary or you're Mo-- trying to curse me. U-um, so when I can figure out how to-- ( beeps ensue, followed by a shriek of fright ) O-oh, no! What did I push, how do I-- make it-- oh gods, did I break it?! W-why can't we just talk in person?!"

[ BEEP. ]

voicemail; action ; video

Comments

[willbreak]

[ Have an incredibly muffled mutter that sounds vaguely like "I'm training". ]

[bloodandblunder]

Sorry, I didn't catch that... [ you being so high up and all. ]

[willbreak]

Um...

[ Inward sigh. Looks like he'll have to prove to her that he really wasn't in (much) danger, so... ]

Can I come down?

[ This is getting uncomfortable. ]

[bloodandblunder]

... Can you? I-I mean, without breaking anything, or--

[willbreak]

[ In response, he pulls with both arms, arrows still attached to his sleeves — then begins a somewhat wobbly but reasonably controlled descent to the ground. He even lands feet first (though the two long seconds of staggering may possibly detract from that particular success).

But look, he's fine! ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ for a second, Noire stares, poised as though she was ready to step forward and try to catch him.

... Then she takes a step back, wobbles, and sinks to the ground. ]

You're all right...

[willbreak]

[ he hesitates for a second, then drops to a crouch. ]

Sorry... I didn't think anyone was nearby...

[bloodandblunder]

That's not the point!

[ and she'll glare at him as fiercely as she can, except she's already tearing up, so it's actually not all that scary. ]

Y-you shouldn't do things like that without someone nearby, just in case you mess up and then you're a broken body on the ground a-and-- no one would-- I was so scared!

[willbreak]

[ If anyone can look apologetic, forlorn, guilty, resentful and embarrassed — in that order— all in the space of a couple of seconds, it's him.

Well, he would have had to tell her at some point. ]

... Remember how I told you about my sword feeling lighter with each kill?

[bloodandblunder]

[ she won't respond verbally, just giving him a teary nod and not actually saying anything potentially dumb like YOUR SWORD DOESN'T MAKE YOU LIGHT ENOUGH TO DEFY GRAVITY. ]

[willbreak]

[ ... oh my god Noire.

Anyway. ]

That's... not limited to how easily I can wield my sword.

[ can she see where he's going here or does he have to spell it out (please don't make him spell it out) ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ luckily for him, she's not as dense as certain other people. ]

Your... magic? [ he'd used it to land, albeit not all that gracefully. ]

[willbreak]

[ Touché. ]

Mmhm...

[ And then she was totally convinced and he didn't have to explain any further than that. Right? ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ HAHAHAHA. ]

.........

[ no, she's still frowning at him. she might be a little angry that he gave her a heart attack. ]

So you threw yourself off to test your magic, without anyone else being around.

[ ... yeah, she's upset. ]

[willbreak]

... I've never lost consciousness doing it...

[ Remember how he mentioned that this wasn't his first time? ]

[bloodandblunder]

It's still dangerous! You-- [ rrrrrgh ] You're always doing everything on your own, and even though you always say you're fine, it's still scary to the people who care about you!

[willbreak]

Hey, you see me every day and I'm fine —

[ Still making excuses because HE REALLY DOESN'T WANT TO SHOW HER the extent to which his powers have grown. Even though he was fine with showing Morgan Release Recollection and hadn't... actually told her not to tell Noire, now that he thinks about it. Oops. ]

[bloodandblunder]

I saw you every day while you were going into the tunnels, too. But...

You... still don't trust me that much... I guess that's understandable. [ even though he essentially told her how to erase him. ]

[willbreak]

It's not about trust, it's just—

[ Sigh. Fine. ]

... Would you feel better if I showed you?

[ So embarrassed. ]

[bloodandblunder]

... If you really don't want to, you don't have to.

[willbreak]

[ STOP BEING ABLE TO READ HIM.

He'll give her a somewhat absent look for all of a second, before coming forward out of the crouch and down onto one knee, reaching his hands out for hers to propose that they live happily ever after in a cottage beyond the mountains. ]

Running away from you... isn't something I want to do anymore.

[bloodandblunder]

[ wow, he turns red and stammers when she saves a cake for him, and then he does something like this like it ain't no big thang.

Noire looks bewildered, flustered, and all of those embarrassing things for the time it takes for her to answer him. But at the same time, her chest warms, because even if she'd never tell him, it had hurt when he'd run away from her before. For reasons she now knew, of course, but still.

So she nods, slowly. ]

All right.

[willbreak]

[ THIS IS NOT WOOING, IT'S A COMFORTING STRATEGY that isn't really strategic.

... See his problem with girls here.

With a reassuring squeeze, he lets go of her, pulls out the arrows that are still attached to his sleeves (whoops) and hands them to her. Then he stands up and steps back, arms positioned downward and a little in front of him as if he's about to leapfrog over something.

Which is kind of true. ]

System call, generate aerial element. Compress, burst!

[ And then he'll shoot straight up into the air leaving a small crater and a cloud of dust in his wake. High, higher, now on buildingtop height...

See, pushing off like this is a lot easier than landing safely because what is control. ]

[bloodandblunder]

[ ... well, she can't entirely say she expected that.

She can't say she expected that at all, actually, and she almost drops the arrows he'd so thoughtfully returned to her as she sways to her feet and tilts her head back to watch him soar straight up.

He hadn't been kidding about his magic, that much is apparent. ]

[willbreak]

[ Unfortunately, he's nowhere near as graceful coming down, and around halfway he swerves dangerously and —

yep, he's lost control of aerial element.

That doesn't mean he comes crashing to the ground. In fact, the time between the swerve and the giant spear of metal burying itself in the ground directly beneath him is virtually nil, and the way he hugs it and slides down probably gives off the impression that he's done this before. A lot.

See, he can land. Slightly unconventionally, but he's working on that. ]