middaeg | [ open ] If you do what you always did...

Who: Vanitas + Open
When: Throughout Mareuer
Where: All around
What: Quest Prompts and semi-open prompts
Warnings: Mentions of last month's event

( Scarring ) - open to close CR ; Beginning of month

[ For the first week after Vanitas had returned home, he really hadn't left bed much. His body had been healing and recovering from the events of the previous month. He hadn't felt much up to doing anything or talking to anyone. There had been a lot that Vanitas had been dealing with internally as well. He had been beating himself up for being too weak and for allowing his guard to drop. Blamed himself for his circumstances and busted wrist. Screaming and having fits in the middle of the night to the point where he'd try to slip away and try to find a place where the voices aren't so loud.

The following few weeks are better, but not by much. Vanitas still hasn't been sleeping well, but he is roaming about the house. Maybe he makes it to the front porch and around the yard, but that's where he stops. For now. If anyone asks, he snaps at them. Vanitas may very well pretend that nothing is wrong and everything is fine. He's defensive, closer to how he had been a year ago. It makes him sick, but he can't stop himself from lashing out a bit.

Because he's fine. He should be fine. So why isn't he? ]

( Gerard's Gardening )

[ Now after about a week into the month, Vanitas can't stand it any more. He doesn't need to be treated with care so he's going to show people that he's fine and that they need to pay attention to themselves and not worry about what he's doing.

Which leads him to where he is right now, planting some seeds. It's a task he's actually done a lot since he's been here and is more familiar with plants than he cares to be sometimes. Anyone watching for a lesson might see - ]

I'll show you how it's done. The right way.

[ Which means Vanitas digging his fingers into the soil. Sprouts magically rise from the flower bed and begin to bloom. He pulls back soon after. ]

Anything more than that and you'll kill them.

[ He's totally done this before. ]

( Birds of a Feathered Cap )

[ Sure, one could probably look for feathers in the city but everyone's going to be doing that, right? Hence Vanitas can be found right outside the wall. It's likely an odd sight, seeing him pace around the area - checking out vegetation and even going so far as to climbing some trees. Looking for nests, of course. They're bound to have feathers as well. ]

You can get lost. I can handle it.

[ This is his job. He doesn't need your help ]

( Curiouser Cats )

How often do these Chimeras run off... I swear there was another incident like this.

[ He's mostly grumbling to himself. This brat's run off and whatever. Vanitas is pretty sure he can track the child down. Without help. Though if pressed he'll motion to the Flood at his side and say that this is all he needs. It's like he's trying to prove to someone - mainly himself - that he's not weak. That Vanitas is still the same as he had been.

Hopefully he won't go out there and get overwhelmed by the Caitagàire.

Even so, he's pushing on - with or without you - into the woods proper with his Keyblade strapped onto his back. ]

Need a bell or something on these kids.

( Wildcard )

[ You know what to do. If you want to plot just hit me up on plurk at jardaan! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ferran has come to check on the residents of the cottage, given that all of them had gotten involved in the last months' horrors in one way or another. There's a bag slung over his shoulder when he approaches, and his eyebrows rise when he spots the young man out in the yard.]

Vanitas.

[He'd heard about the kinds of things the cult had done to those they'd captured, although he'd avoided asking any direct questions about who went through what, exactly. For one, it's not really beneficial for anyone for him to know those details. All he needs to know is that his friends are hurting, and that he's determined to give them some comfort or help. He certainly counts Vanitas among those.]

It's good to see you on your feet.

Yeah well. They broke my wrist not my legs.

[ He's not looking for pity or anything Ferran. Vanitas isn't making the statement because he wants the world to know his suffering. It's pure deflection. Making light of what had been done because he doesn't really want to think and process it. Not right now. ]

Looks like you're making the rounds.

[ Nodding towards that bag of course. ]

[Even if there's a slight hint of discomfort in the Fae's smile at the semi-joke, it's purely out of sympathy and the image of it happening that comes to mind. When it comes to Ferran, it's hard for pity to not come into the equation, but that doesn't mean he's going to treat Vanitas like a delicate flower; he can adjust. If Vanitas wants dark humor, he can respond in kind.]

I'll make sure to celebrate if you manage a handstand, then.

["Making the rounds," though?]

I'd like to think it's more personal than that. [The phrase doesn't have any heart in it, if you ask Ferran.] I came to see you, maybe offer a distraction or two. Or you can tell me to beat it and leave the snacks behind.

[ It's good that Ferran does respond this way. This at least gets a bark of laugher out of Vanitas - airy as it may be. ]

You'll be the first one to know when I do.

[ Hmm. But the Fae says he offers company and a distraction. Honestly he considers this for a moment. Thinks about sending the other on his way because Vanitas doesn't know how long he'll really but up to entertaining.

However one thing brings him up short. ]

Snacks?

Of course.

[He wouldn't come here without some kind of offering; Ferran knows how much he wanted to isolate after some of his... experiences, so he'd considered it a possibility with Vanitas, too. He pulls out a small container of some kind of dip to indicate, though he's brought more than that.]

There's plenty to munch on, for when you're not up to something big. [Full meals can be such a hassle to deal with when you have no appetite, even when you know you should have something.]

[You know one of those cats that are aloof and uncaring? Then they immediately perk up at the sight of food? Yeah, that's kind of what is going on here. Vanitas' demeanor changes, despite the things that he has been through and experienced. A lot can be pushed aside and bottled up for proper treats you know? ]

What did you bring to match that?

[ Nodding to the dip. Because Vanitas knows what it is. He just hasn't had it. ]

[What kind of Fae would he be if he couldn't use the oldest trick in the book for drawing someone in? With a satisfied look, he returns the container to his bag.]

Crackers and pretzels, though there are a couple of sandwiches if you're feeling adventurous about it. Is that enough of an offering, or do I need to come back with more?

Crackers and pretzels? That's it? You're walking around with relatively healthy snacks?

[ Vanitas makes a face. He had been hoping for something sweet. ]

Augh. I suppose it is better than nothing.

[Ferran lets out a brief ha! in response. He is, at his core, a Mom Friend, which means making sure his friends are taking care of themselves in what ways he can. But he does hold up his wrist to jostle the bracelet Vanitas gifted him, indicating his magical specialty.]

Don't worry, I can make it taste as unhealthy as you want.

[ The jostling does, in fact, get his attention. Vanitas recognizes the gift, of course. there's a weird churning in his gut. An emotion that he can't really name. The following comment does make him scoff just slightly. ]

Illusions work with tastebuds? Someone really has been working...

[Ferran seems pleased with the praise, a confident gleam in his eyes.]

They can work with every sense you have, if I put enough into it. [He lowers his hand again, placing it on his hip.] Making things seem nicer than they are is the main Fae experience in all the stories I know.

[Just because Ferran detests the native fairies doesn't mean he can't use his own powers for good.]

And you'd be prepared to "put enough into it" for something as asinine as taste buds?

[ Not that he is completely discrediting Ferran and his abilities. Vanitas wouldn't really know something like that. However... Is it really okay to go that far? Seems like kind of a waste of time and energy?

Surely there is something that Ferran could be doing with all that instead. Something more beneficial than to just cater to Van's sweet tooth.

He might be having a moment. ]

[Ferran lets out a laugh like the question itself is absurd.]

Getting my friend something he wants is hardly asinine.

[Doing these sorts of things is one of his main drives, honestly. Any time he can make someone's day better is worth it in his book—for the most part.]

[ Vanitas is looking at Ferran like that answer is absurd. ]

A friend, hmm? Is that what I am?

[ It's a strange thing. People tend to call each other that so easily. Or maybe Vanitas still doesn't understand when that line is crossed? ]

[Oh, Vanitas. The sly smile on Ferran's face is definitely teasing.]

Do you routinely buy specialized gifts for people who aren't your friends?

[It's a rhetorical question; he already knows the answer, of course, having helped Vanitas with gift giving ideas in the first place. And as hesitant as Ferran himself was to call people he'd known for maybe a month or two a friend, he feels like they've already moved past that "line."]

We've helped each other, and we get along well. I'd trust you with more than a few things, and you might even go so far to say I like you. Why wouldn't you be a friend?

[ Van is similar, of course. Someone he's only known for a couple of months shouldn't really so quickly be considered "friend." Then again, Vanitas still doesn't quite understand when the "line" is being crossed at all. ]

Valid points, all of those.

[ Maybe one day he will actually grasp the concept of friendship. One day. ]

All right. Just give me something. Doesn't matter what.

Edited 2021-04-18 17:45 (UTC)

[One day... one day that Ferran will be glad to be there for, should fate will it.]

I'm glad you agree.

[Ferran obeys without pause, digging out a quarter of a sandwich out of its wrapping and holding it out to the witch. What kind is it? Well, thanks to a decently powerful illusion, it's whatever kind Vanitas wants it to be. Working with such a small scale after months of practice is hardly a challenge.]

[ open ] If you do what you always did...

scarring

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