|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 1:30 pm
Chester giving in to exhaustion and alcohol left Zia feeling awkward and bored. She didn't immediately sleep. She felt like she had been asleep for centuries and she seemed to be aware that if she left consciousness slip away, it would slip back into Tartaros.
She wasn't ready for that, yet.
At some point during the night she left him, slipping away to wander the small space as flits of things flashed in her brain. Cold sank into her bones and hugging either Dodge or Chester's body for heat didn't satisfy her.
Shifting glamour to a human, she observed herself in the mirror, deciding she looked as much like old Zia as possible. She took notice that there was no brand on her chest. Not that she knew a brand had been there, but she noticed something was missing, even if she couldn't remember what. Her tattoos were gone, and she felt a strange pang of regret. Something about money. They had been expensive?
By morning she had stolen clothes from his closet and blankets to stave off the cold and contentedly nested back where her most solid memory was sleeping soundly. He was an anchor in endless confusion, and holding his head on her lap and petting his hair was a soothing means of comfort in all of the mental chaos.
But by the time the sun had risen, she found herself laying back and looking at her own hand in a dazed sort of confusion, brow furrowed as if something was wrong, or she was trying to solve a puzzle as she rotated it in the light streaming in from the window.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 5:38 pm
Chester had been through a lot in a very short period of time, when it came down to it. He lost his girlfriend, thought he had failed her and cost them both everything, and then he suddenly found her again, but she was not like she had been. If he had not been drunk going into it, it probably would not have gone as well, relatively, as it had. He passed out from the weight of all his emotions, things he desperately tried to ignore and keep small and unimportant.
This was all just a lot for him to deal with, and he was completely unequipped for it.
He woke late in the morning with, thankfully, very little of a hang over to contend with. He at least had that to look forward to, every time he got that drunk. It was one small blessing, he supposed, and it was something that had always been with him. If he did get hung over, the night of drinking before hand had to be insane.
And he was not a young man anymore, at least not in soul, so he did not get that wild without reason.
"Are you alright?" he asked, half in a daze as he sat up and watched her looking so confused at her hand. He did not see anything on it, and wondered if he had managed to drool on her, or something, and it was baffling her. He really hoped it was not that, but he also hoped it was nothing more serious than that, either.
Gently, he reached up and touched her hand lightly, at the wrist, looking at it for any injury just in case.
It was going to be in his nature to worry over her a lot more than he used to, if that was even possible.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 5:52 pm
Zia let him take it, and inspect it as she had been. Except she had been looking for injury.
"It was burned," She said, as if she had just remembered the marks mirrorspace had left on her. She tugged down the baggy shirt she was wearing-- his shirt-- and touched her other hand to the space just below her collarbone. "Here too. The burns and brands are gone..."
Her eyes looked at him and her hand, and darted with a confused expression like she was searching for something. And then she shook her head and jumped forward against him, forcefully smooshing her lips against his cheek in a sort of kiss, and then continuing to hug/hold his head close as she pressed her nose against his temple. "I remember how your hair gel smells."
She pulled back and looked around, wide eyed with some strange brand of excitement before she exhaled. "It's, I feel like..." She held her hands hovering around her head, sounding more like Zia this morning than she had last night. "Like I overdosed. But on magic and memories and scary things and now I'm muddling my way through a weird... memory hangover and trying to find the important ones."
She turned around quickly and narrowed her eyes at him. "Does that make sense? Weird things make sense to me now."
And then she froze as if overcome by a sudden realization and held her stomach with a cringe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 6:13 pm
"A lot of the markings on your skin are gone," he said evenly, though he had only just noticed the changes himself. He shook his head in confusion, but he supposed all these changes in her were all due to whatever had happened and he could not assume anything. He took things as they were revealed to him, and tried to handle them all one by one, in stride. He wanted to offer her strength, as he knew she was doing the exact same thing, but it was ten times harder for her.
Her tackle kiss surprised him, and he let out a sound to reflect that, though usually he was good about keeping his composure.
"My hair gel?"
Leaning his head against her, letting her cling to him, he took stock of the situation. He was having a lot of trouble understanding things in that calm way he so desperately wanted to stick to, despite his best effort. When she released him, he could not help but reach up and take her face in his hands, holding her still and offering her some of the strength he always seemed to have on reserve, just for her.
"I don't understand what happened to you. It doesn't make sense to me, but the more I see and hear... the more I will understand. You can be weird and you can be overwhelmed and struggling, and I will be here to share in it, okay? Don't... deal with it alone. I might not be able to do anything but be here, but I want to do that. And if you can think of anything I can do to make things easier... I will do it. I wish I could take it all away, or that it had been me... I'm sorry I failed you so badly..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 6:30 pm
"You didn't fail, you are right where I needed you to be!" She quipped in an almost childish 'duh' tone. It made sense to her. After awakening from what seemed like infinite darkness she had only a hunch to guide her, and there he was to anchor her and re-tether her to this physical existence after rebirth.
"I am the Black Moon's Regent, the Castellan of Tyndareus' infinite dynasty, conqueror Tartaros, sorceress of the cosmos, ancient and undying protector of the throne," She rattled off, seemingly puffing up more and more in her own, and very possibly made up grandeur, and then patted his shoulder with an almost arrogant smile, "But I will always need a knight of your excellence for assistance, even I am not invincible."
She stopped and narrowed her eyes as some other point in space. "What was I thinking about before tha... ah..."
She turned to throw her arms around his neck and hang on him, her cringe returning and a look of new, dire urgency on her face. "Do you have any food?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 9:48 am
Chester nodded his head at that logic, not really in a place to argue with her about it, though the weight of guilt was still heavy on him, and he knew better than to accept her words as fact. Everything was different now, and maybe she did not really remember what promises he had made.
But he would remember them.
"I will always be your knight, as long as you need me."
He smiled softly, not sure when he had last really smiled, and actually felt any sort of happiness or calm with it. He had always treated her like a queen anyway, right? So maybe this would not be too much of a change after all, though he was likely just being optimistic. He was startled out of his thoughts when she attacked him, blinking at her and putting his arms around her on instinct.
"Food? Oh, of course, are you hungry? I can make something..."
He did not think he had a lot of options. He was not exactly taking care of himself when she was away and he was miserable. He probably had a lot of leftover junk food and things he had ordered in the fridge, since he could not be bothered to get out and buy himself proper food. He moved to stand, taking her with him and just carrying her to the kitchen because he could.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 10:23 am
She seemed content to be toted around, but she jumped down when they got to the fridge, digging through old take out boxes and opening the occasional one to sniff inside.
Something in a folded take out box of questionable freshness had already been inhaled without a lot of grace. She seemed just as grabby as usual, and content to dig around in things before she tossed a pizza menu attached to one of the boxes at him. Whether it was decent or even edible didn't seem to matter much. "I feel like I haven't eaten in a week, it hurts," She mumbled, although she looked it too. In actuality she had reverted back to her physical state at the point of being converted to a parallel, which was during a rough time in prep school where she starved herself in the name of dress sizes. It had been almost five years, she wasn't used to that anymore and suddenly resetting everything with little memory hadn't helped.
Giving up on the fridge, she helped herself to various cupboards, finding the coffee beans and standing there, seemingly enamored in just smelling the bag. "Ahhh... What's this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 12:50 pm
Chester watched her as she looked through his food, feeling oddly shamed about the condition of his fridge and cupboards. Usually he kept a lot of food available, because he knew how much she liked eating, but this was not really what he wanted her to see. He had been in a sorry state, and was not very proud of himself for it now that he was looking at the results.
But at least she seemed content, and she was eating... hopefully none of it was off...
"That? Oh, that's coffee. Do you want a cup? I'll make some fresh."
Stale coffee, at least, he could avoid, and he moved to take the bag and show her how to use the coffee machine, though he was not sure if she remembered or not, or if she would as he showed her. He imagined giving her coffee was going to either be a horrible idea, or maybe she would be calmed by the familiar taste. It was, after all, the one she liked the best and had picked for him to keep.
He tended to just adapt to her tastes, and was not too picky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 1:28 pm
It had to have been difficult assembling the coffee maker, since Zia seemed to shift from standing on her toes and looking over his shoulder at the contraption, and crouching down to be eye level with the counter and watch the mysterious process.
"Most of my clearest memories are of living in the moon palace," She said in almost awe, poking at the carafe and then pulling her finger back from the heat.
She watched a few drops with quiet fascination, at some point picking up Dodge in spite of the fact he was nearly as tall as she was standing on his hind legs. The puppy seemed content to be floppy and let her hold him just under his forepaws. Or maybe he was too tired to struggle as he only yawned and let his tail smack against the floor lazily.
"I like the way it smells," Zia commented, although her focus on the way everything smelled probably had more to do with the memories it triggered.
But watching coffee drip got boring fast and she let Dodge drop to walk around and dig through the kitchen again, finding a bag of something and sitting up on the counter. "If you thought I was gone, what about everyone else?" She pondered, and then tried hard to search through her memory banks on who 'everyone else' was. She suddenly, with a burst of clarity, remembered a man.
A man she had an intense partnership with, and she brightened for a moment, and then seemed to deflate with heavy sadness, frowning down at the floor. "Oh. Tyndareus is dead."
Thinking too hard down this train of thought, tears started welling up as her cheeks flushed, "And if I'm regent then that means Helen must be dead too."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 4:14 pm
Chester watched her placidly, but felt out of his depth. He did not know anything about the world she seemed to be from now, and could not help her sort out these memories that were troubling her so much. He wanted to, quite badly, but he did not know how to help her. All he could do was be her rock, and help her with the memories he was a part of.
And of course, make new ones with her now.
At least Dodge seemed to have eased in to this whole thing without any trouble. He was as calm with Zia as ever, and it was sweet to see. He smiled slightly as Dodge just flopped around and followed Zia like the puppy he was. He felt a slight kinship to the dog, really. Dedicated regardless of what happened, and though confused, not deterred.
"Here."
Once the coffee was done, he offered her a cup, hoping to ease the pain of the memory that was plaguing her at the moment with something he knew she liked. Or at least, she had before any of this happened. He sat down with her, tugging her close to him whether she wanted cuddles or not. He did not say anything, just wrapped his arms around her and let her drink her coffee if she wanted it, holding her and letting her know he was still there, despite how useless he might have been.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:44 pm
She seemed stuck in a silent loop of memories. It was not a pleasant notion, realizing that you were the way you were because everyone from your oldest memories had died. And every death felt new and raw all of the sudden, even though before Zirconia had years and years to harden to them.
The realization of coffee in her hands and arms around her was a jolt awake, and welcome comfort as she leaned back into him, doubly assured by the steady sensation of his presence. "Don't leave," She blurted before she realized what she was saying. It was an impossible request anyway, since she was basically asking him to live forever. But it was nice to think, at least for a second, that maybe Chester was as eternal and long standing as he felt like he was in that moment.
It still helped her pull out of the quicksand in her head and at the very least come back to living in this moment. She turned her attention down to the coffee, giving a deep inhale again at the scent of it. Although once she got rave enough to sip it, she hadn't expected the typical coffee taste, and her facial muscles twitched in a childish reaction to the flavor.
She tried not to show too much of her shocked reaction. It was probably normal to like it, she thought. She remembered liking it. But she still put it aside on the counter, easier to give in to the fact he was trying to affectionately cuddle. "I'm glad you're here," She said, nuzzling her nose against him. And almost as if purposely undermining the shut down moments earlier, "Is it too early to order a pizza?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:16 pm
"As long as I'm able to make the choice, I will always be with you," Chester said quietly, in an effort to calm her fears. He could not promise immortality for himself, of course, but he could give her all the years of his life that he had left.
Though he did not talk about it too often, and certainly would not now, he did remember a few things from that strange future they had witnessed. He remembered being married to her, and could almost recall just what it felt like to ask her, and, despite the wait, to finally get an answer. Despite how difficult it had seemed to be then, he still wanted to experience it again.
Some time, when she was ready. And he was, too, though he felt at peace with the idea. Though she was different, she was still the person he was in love with, and nothing would take her away from him, try as the universe might.
He was her knight: his life was already hers, but he wanted to give her everything.
"I think you once said it's never too early to order pizza," he didn't think that was true, but it certainly sounded right. He cuddled her to him affectionately, holding her for a long moment just for the sake of it, before he moved to get the phone, so they could indulge in some pizza.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
