middaeg | [Open] Canon Update & Catch-all!

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[Open] Canon Update & Catch-all!

Who: Crow Armbrust and YOU!!
When: January 4th and thereafter
Where: Mirror House and around Aefenglom
What: Canon Update/Catchall
Warnings: Major spoilers from Trails of Cold Steel 3! Possible themes include death, betrayal, political unrest, mental manipulation, supernatural disasters... I'll update if needed!

I. Mirror House.

[ Crow did not, as a general rule, go to the Mirror House. That's not saying anything against it so much as he just preferred to look forward towards his life in Aefenglom with his friends rather than focusing too hard on a path with no future to it. Feelings get complicated and Crow is allergic to feelings, or at least he doesn't like having his on public display very often. But he'd gone to the mirror house today, almost as if he were compelled to. He didn't stop until he'd reached his own mirror, one that was familiar to him in more intimate ways than any other.

And then he touched it.

He wasn't aware a couple of his friends had been there-- or were perhaps with their own mirrors at this very moment. Either way, his experience was a little different than theirs. For one thing, they were catching up on a few short months-- Crow had nearly a year and a half all at once, flashing vividly behind his eyes in full detail. A life he hadn't expected to keep going, or rather-- to be brought back. Such as it is.

There are physical changes that come for him in a way that the others hadn't really gotten. A year and a half for Crow is enough to grow a little, to fill out just a bit more-- for his hair to grow in length, to become suddenly several shades paler. And at the end of it, Crow lets out a gasp as he finally--

He pulls his hand away from the mirror almost as if he'd been burned. But it only takes a moment of recovery before he's glancing around and then folding his hands behind his head. ]

Well, that's enough time reflecting on things. Heh...!

II. Aefenglom.

[ It's going to be pretty hard for Crow to hide that something's happened when you can take one look at him and tell just by the physical differences that something has. But this is Crow Armbrust and he's very willing to deflect as much as he has to. Of course, maybe you don't really know him-- maybe he doesn't have anything at all to explain. He's more than fine with that, he doesn't really want to talk about it anyway.

After his adventures in the mirror house, you might find Crow eating in a nice spot at a local café, a nice cup of hot chocolate in hand. Or you could find him by the docks, chatting with some of the workers there or else just looking out at the water for a brief moment before moving on. You might even find him wandering around the shopping district, looking for all the world like any other person out to buy whatever it is that's caught their interest. Either way, if you look like you want to talk to him, he'll lift his hand and grin. ]

Hey, what's up?

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[ Crow considers calling her out on that for a moment but that'd give her an opportunity to do the same to him. No thanks! So he grins at her easily. ]

Of course, how could I blame you for wanting to get your hands on me?

[Towa knows that they're both full of it right now. She knows that as his friend, she should call him out on it. She should be better than this.

But she's a coward. So she laughs, even if it sounds forced and weird.

Towa gently threads her fingers through the hair that's grown out over his shoulder with a smile.]

You're horrible. I can't believe you've gotten even taller...

I can! Though uh, I'm pretty sure I'm as tall as I'll get now.

[ So she doesn't have to worry about him towering even further over her. Probably. ]

Man, I'm gonna need to buy some new clothes though.

[ Not that what he has won't still fit, but there would need to be adjustments and he's a vain bird. ]

Mrrrgh... you better be.

[Yet she's not holding her breath. Trust issues.]

In that case-- let me help you.

[It's way better than anything else she'd come up with to distract herself. And... she wants to be near him.]

[ How could Towa possibly ever have trust issues, especially about Crow in particular? ]

That's what I'm here for!

[ He gestures broadly around the store she'd found him at. ]

Feel free to give suggestions.

[At this point, she's willing to place her trust issues in her own judgement rather than any individual. It hurts slightly less that way.]

Right!

[Shopping therapy is real.]

It would be kind of nice to see you in a proper vest and tie--

[A girl can dream.]

[ Crow laughs lightly as he starts looking through some clothes. ]

Hey now, we're shopping for me, not you. We'll talk about that some other time.

[ He's not strictly against it but the timing's gotta be right for it. ]

Hey, it is for you.

[Wow, stop calling her out like that?! Besides, you're the one that gifted her that dress.]

You could stand to have at least one nice outfit.

[ That dress was also a gift for himself and he'd admit it if called out. ]

If I buy anything nice, it'll be by myself so it can be a surprise. It's more fun that way.

[ He's grinning pretty unrepentantly. Of course that's how he'd do it. ]

[It's almost too easy to be normal with him like this. She's thankful, for sure, but it feels unfair.]

A surprise coming from you sounds pretty scary.

[But she's not saying that she wouldn't enjoy it either.]

[ He grins and waves a hand dismissively. ]

Don't be ridiculous, a surprise from me is nothing but the highest quality of surprises.

[ "Normal" is exactly what he's shooting for, honestly. There's a lot to process and plenty of time to do it in. It doesn't hurt to have a little oasis of calm amidst all the chaos. ]

This last one was a lot better than the ones before it.

[Finding out that he was alive was a heck of a lot better than realizing he was C or Azure Siegfried and all the surprises that went with those different names.]

But I wouldn't mind one of these so-called "highest quality" surprises.

[ He's got at least one or two more deeply unhappy surprises lurking but he's not about to bring those up. Instead, he winks at her. ]

I'll have to arrange something, then. There's your only warning, by the way.

[It's amazing she's survived this long. You're going to give her heart failure one of these days.]

Fine-- I'll look forward to it then.

[She can't even begin to imagine what he'd come up with-- but then, that's part of the fun, she supposes.]

At least let me help you pay for all this.

[ Sometimes, you're full of more surprises than you actually intended to be. It happens. ]

I won't say "no" if you wanna help foot the bill.

[ He was prepared to buy everything himself, but hey, if she's offering... ]

I want to.

[It's something she can do, during a time when she feels like there really isn't much.]

So just focus on making sure you have everything you want and need.

[If you're going to replace your wardrobe then go all out.]

If you're sure, then... there's an invitation I'm more than happy to take!

[ It won't be an entire wardrobe's worth but you can bet Crow's going to buy several outfits ]

As long as you're happy, I'm happy.

[She'll even help carry a few pieces, so he can browse for the things he wants.

It's absolutely worth every coin and then some.]

[ Crow hums lightly, still smiling. ]

Didn't you know? I'm always happy when I'm getting new clothes.

[ That's not what she meant and he damned well knows it. ]

[Just for that--]

You sound like a girl.

[ If that's how you're going to play it, Towa-- ]

I'm shocked you would give in to that kind of stereotyping, Towa. Shocked!

I didn't say it was a bad thing. It's nice to see you care so much about your appearance.

[That, she means.]

Yeah but all the same, I can't imagine Fie caring about clothes-shopping.

[ He can easily imagine her letting Sara pick out her wardrobe. ]

Anyway, it may not mean a lot in the grand scheme of things but it's fun to pay attention to my looks.

I don't know, I think Fie knows how to say "no" pretty well these days.

[She was more carefree, but she still had her own style.]

Although I guess I've never gone shopping with her before. Just once or twice with Elliot. Well... and with you before.

[She doesn't. Shop that often to begin with.]

I've never doubted her ability to say "no."

[ Fie is pretty good about being true to herself and even in the time he'd known her back home had grown a lot as a person. ]

I just can't imagine her enjoying shopping a lot. Like for her, it'd be just... a thing you do, what's the big deal kinda thing.

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