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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:48 pm
A few hours later, and Gale was still not used to having Jinhai in physical form and his head emptied of all thoughts but his own. He had grown so used to having the second voice in his mind that to not have it was taking some getting used to.
Not that he minded, since it meant he had privacy for the first time in over a year, but it was still very odd.
"How are you feeling?"
The question was posed from Gale to the weapon in question, Jinhai standing in front of him, idly twisting the sleeve of his long tunic. Gale himself was sitting on the grass just outside of the main building, munching on a peanut butter and honey sandwich that he had swiped from the cafeteria on his way out (it had been much too noisy to actually stay).
Jinhai gave him a Look. "You've asked me that question at least three times in as many minutes."
Gale shrugged. "Well, it's...wonky, all right? I'm not used to having you..." He gestured towards him in a noncommittal sort of hand movement. "Well, being you."
"Oh, pardon me, let me go back to not being me, then."
"Good grief."
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Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:46 pm
"...Eva, is this really necessary?"
Chara sounded more than a little exasperated as she walked alongside Eva, a hand raised to massage at her temple. All it took was one glance at Eva's arms to know that something was up: there was a cookie, an apple, a sandwich, and a variety of miscellaneous snacks cradled in the girl's arms...and all of these foodstuffs were meant for Chara to try.
"Of course it is!" Eva exclaimed, looking genuinely surprised by her companion's question, "I mean, when was the last time you got to taste things? We can't let this chance go to waste, Chara! I got you whatever I could find. An apple, some chips, a--Gale!"
"...A gale?"
It took the gorgon a moment to realize just what--or rather, who--Eva was talking about, and another moment for her to understand why the girl had suddenly broken out into a jog. With a heavy sigh, Chara followed after her at a leisurely pace, arriving just as Eva knelt down to give the blond boy a hug.
"Gale! It's good to see you again! ...Ah, and this must be..."
Moving up behind her, Chara sighed. "My apologies for the sudden intrusion," She bowed her head with embarrassment, but when she looked up, her lips were tilted upwards in a wry smile, "We've worked together before, but I guess this is technically the first time we've really met. I'm Chara."
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:12 am
"Give me my sandwich back."
"I just want one bite."
"You said that three bites ago."
"Did not. I just want to try it."
"Give it back - "
Unfortunately when Eva found Gale and Jinhai, the pair was in the middle of a squabble, Gale leaning across the dragon in an attempt at getting his lunch back. The dragon in question was holding the sandwich high up and was leaning away from him, scowling down at him.
"Gale!"
He glanced up, caught sight of Eva, and promptly turned red, scuttling back away from Jinhai, who lifted his brows in surprise.
"Ah, Eva, hell - oomph."
She had promptly dropped down and wrapped her arms around him, and Gale felt his cheeks flush pink as he patted her back, trying ignore the stupid fluttering in his stomach. It had been a while since he'd last seen her, and he had been starting to worry.
But it looked as though she were all right. Gale gave her a small smile. "Ah, it's been a while," he said. "You look well."
There was a girl with her, with dark hair coiled about her head, and Gale got to his feet, brushing grass off of his pants. "It's...not a problem, really," he said, slightly surprised by the politeness of Eva's weapon - Chara, as she was introduced. Gale gave her a nod.
"I've heard Eva talk of you before," he said, and then gestured towards Jinhai. "This is Jinhai. Jinhai, this is Chara, and...Eva."
The dragon was wearing a very suspicious smile. Gale did not like it one bit.
"Ah, yes," he said, and stepped forward, extending his hand to the both of them in turn. "A pleasure to meet you both. I've heard Gale speak...much of you."
And then Gale was back in Tomatoface Land. Really, it had been a while.
The plants needed watering.
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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:54 pm
"It has been a while!" Eva agreed, tapping her chin as she tried to recall when the last time they had seen each other was. After a moment passed, she gave up, shaking her head with a smile. "I'm just glad to see you safe and sound! I was worried about you for a while!"
Chara simply stood over them and sighed, a sound that Eva was more than accustomed to hearing (albeit in her mind, but still). When Jinhai was introduced, the gorgon turned to look at him, inclining her head towards him as she reached out to shake his offered hand.
"It's nice to meet you too. It's always nice working with you and Gale." Her bright violet eyes flickered to the blond boy then, "Thank you for always watching out for Eva. I'm surprised she hasn't died ye--"
"Chaaara!"
The weapon trailed off with a small smile, and then moved aside when Eva stepped forward to greet Jinhai. She looked him up and down for a moment before taking his extended hand with a friendly grin, "I always thought that you looked like a cool weapon, and you're just as cool in this form as well! ...Oh?" She turned her head to look at Gale for a moment, lifting her free hand in an attempt to shield her grin as she realized just how bright his face had turned. Clearing her throat in an attempt to compose herself, she turned back to look at Jinhai with a bright smile.
"Well, I hope he had good things to say about me. You're lucky to have Gale as a partner."
While they were talking, Chara crouched down to examine the foodstuffs that Eva had been carrying (and must have dropped somewhere between carrying them over and hugging Gale), sifting through them with a wrinkled nose. What was all this stuff? Raisin oatmeal cookies? Ketchup chips? Deciding that she would not suffer be enlightened on the taste of human foods alone, she cleared her throat loudly.
"Jinhai. How adventurous are you feeling today?" As she spoke, she held up one of the small pack of ketchup chips by the very corner of the bag, letting it dangle from between her fingers.
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 3:47 pm
Gale tried not to feel too stupidly pleased that Eva had been worried about him, and instead gave her a small, rare smile, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. "Well, as you can see, I'm, fine," he said, his face a little flushed. "And I'm, er...I'm glad to see you."
By now he was also very studiously ignoring the look Jinhai was giving him as he took Eva's hand to shake it.
"It's nothing, of course," the dragon was now saying to Chara, a smile on his face. He looked over at Eva and nodded, eyes flickering towards the blonde standing a few feet away. "Yes, I'm very fortunate. He's a good guy. And Eva seems like a very accomplished young woman, and Gale thinks very highly of her, obviously, since he thinks about her all the ti - ow."
There was a shuffle, a muffled thud, and a wheezing sound, and then Jinhai was bent over, holding his stomach and coughing while Gale was moving around to step in front of him.
"Er, ignore him, he doesn't know what he's saying," he said. "Anyway, erm, how have you been lately, Eva?"
Jinhai, in the meantime, had composed himself once more and was now crouching down to where Chara was, eyeing the bag of chips.
"Define 'adventurous.'"
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Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 9:30 pm
"I'm glad to see you too," She assured him, giving him an affectionate one-armed hug around the shoulders. It was always a huge relief to see her friends safe and sound--if there was one thing she had learned from her time here, it was that anyone could lose their life at any time.
But it seemed as if now was not their time, and it was far too nice of a day to have such gloomy thoughts. Eva was content to watch Gale and Jinhai's interactions with amusement, standing back and watching the two with raised eyebrows and a huge grin. My, it was nice to see that they got along so well! Though considering the months they had spent sharing a mind space, one would hope that the hunters and weapons had some kind of pleasant relationship with one another.
"I've been...pretty well? Definitely super excited that Chara finally has a body, even if it's only temporary." As she said this, she cast a look towards the weapons, her expression becoming thoughtful. "...I wonder if they ever miss being...well, them?"
While Eva and Gale were speaking, Chara had turned to regard Jinhai with a wry--and slightly anxious--smile. "Up for trying these strange snacks that Eva got me? Some things, like the apple, seem pretty straight forward, but these chips..."
Trailing off, she eyed the bag of ketchup chips with some hesitation before finally pulling it open. At once, she was assaulted by--in her opinion--a very strange scent, and it was with a small grimace that she shoved the bag in front of the other weapon's face.
"Gentlemen first."
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Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 7:41 am
Gale wasn't entirely certain he would be able to stop Jinhai from saying stupid things out loud, but maybe he could at least distract him by letting him mingle with Chara. Yes, this was a good plan. Keep the dragon as occupied as possible so that he wouldn't accidentally-on-purpose reveal anything...not meant to be revealed.
Not that Eva wasn't already aware of his feelings towards her, but considering he was a) currently trying to get over her, and b) already rejected by her, really he didn't need Jinhai shoving it back in her face.
Clearing his throat a little, Gale gave her a smile. "Yeah, I think...well, at first, I was a little hesitant, since I wasn't entirely certain what to expect - "
" - a beautiful, incredible Adonis in shining armor?"
" - shut up Ginny - but now that I've had him around..." Gale gave a little shrug, casting a glance over at the dragon in question, who was now kneeling on the ground beside Eva's weapon. "I like having him like this. I mean, I like the rifle, but it's sort of nice to have them like this for a while."
He lapsed into a thoughtful silence at Eva's question, giving Jinhai a surreptitious look. "I think they do," he said quietly. "Jinhai's made mention of it before, though obviously they don't remember much about it. And that makes it a little...sad, somehow, wouldn't you think?"
His voice grew a little softer. "Not remembering who you once were must be awfully frustrating."
Down on the ground, Jinhai sifted through the snacks, picking up something in a shiny silver, plastic bag and giving it a once-over. "Human food really is quite...interesting," he said, dangling the bag between two fingers before he dropped it again. He gave Chara an amused look. "What are these...chips...hmm, how very odd looking."
He sniffed the bag suspiciously, and then reached in and pulled one out, placing it delicately in his mouth. There was a moment of silence while he chewed thoughtfully, and then swallowed, adopting a grimace.
"Strange. Very strange. Here, you try one."
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Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 6:35 pm
Eva did not seem at all particularly worried about the fact that Chara speak and interact with all of her friends...but that was likely because the gorgon had always come off as rather composed and level-headed in her mind. After all, at least one person in their partnership had to be a responsible adult...and it certainly wasn't going to be Eva.
The girl nodded in understanding when Gale mentioned his initial hesitation, only to let out a startled laugh at Jinhai's interjection and the boy's following response. They really did get along quite well, didn't they? "You two seem like close friends," Eva couldn't help but note with a smile, "Or...maybe even brothers! You know, friendly bickering and all that!" At the very least, they obviously weren't extremely uncomfortable or stiff around each other.
The smile on her face faded into something softer then, and she cast the two weapons a brief glance before her blue eyes flickered back to focus on the blond boy. "I'd have to agree with you there. I mean...to forget your friends and your family is kind of..." Pressing her lips into a thin line, she gave a little shake of her head. She couldn't even imagine how distressed she would be if she were to realize that she could no longer remember those dear to her. "I wonder, if they were given the chance to..."
She had been about to say "live again", but the words died on her lips. Shaking her head, Eva's lips spread into a smile as she suddenly reached out to grab Gale's hand, pulling him with her. Moving towards where Chara and Jinhai were kneeling, she crouched down beside them and piped up with a cheerful, "So guys, how's it going?"
Chara had been watching the dragon's face very carefully the moment the chip touched his mouth, her expression anxious as she watched him chew. It was almost as if she expected him to either keel over or spit the chip out...but neither of those things happened. In fact, despite the fact that he didn't seem to like it, he had managed to swallow the thing.
"...Well, so long as 'strange' doesn't necessarily mean 'disgusting'..." Reaching out, Chara pulled out one of the chips, eying it with evident wariness. Why...why was the one that she grabbed so red? Most of the chips in the bag looked like they had a generous coating of the ketchup flavour, but the one that she held was absolutely coated in the stuff. Still, after lifting the chip to Jinhai like a toast, she took a small bite.
Her expression immediately twisted into a grimace, and she began to cough. When Eva crouched down to join them, Chara turned and immediately stuck the rest of the chip into the girl's mouth.
Nope.
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Posted: Thu Aug 30, 2012 6:48 pm
Gale tilted his head to slant a dry look at Jinhai, who returned it with amusement, and what was clearly a very halfhearted attempt at hiding a smile. "Yes, well," said Gale, as he turned back to Eva. "We get along all right and all. I s'pose it's a lot better than what others have. I've seen a few partnerships that, ah...aren't all that great, so I consider myself fortunate."
Despite the seriousness of their conversation, Gale couldn't help but feel a small sense of pleasure at talking to Eva again. It had been a while and although he was still trying (rather in vain) at getting over his feelings for her, it really was just nice to sit and talk and not have to deal with anything attempting to eat them or set them on fire.
"I'd rather have the memories than the power," said Gale, his voice lowered so that Chara and Jinhai wouldn't hear him. His gaze moved back to his weapon, and for a moment something else flickered across his face - a bittersweet expression bordering on painful, but it passed almost as quickly as it had come and he gave her a small smile.
"Just promise me that if I ever forgot you, you'd be my friend again."
Her fingers closed around his, warm and friendly, and Gale allowed himself to be dragged upwards, following Eva to where Jinhai and Chara were crouched. He dropped back down beside them and rifled through the food that was piled on the grass.
"Interesting assortment you've got here," said Gale dryly, as Jinhai made a face that clearly indicated their tastes were vastly different than human tastes.
"It's, erm...well, not disgusting," said the dragon, as Chara pulled a red chip out. "But I wouldn't say it's great either."
Gale reached towards the bag and took it from his hands. "Ketchup?" he read, looking mildly horrified. "Even I think these are disgusting. Tell me you don't like these, Eva."
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Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 9:16 pm
Memories versus power, huh? There was no need to think about what she would decide on if such a choice was bestowed upon her--she definitely agreed with Gale. "Same here. There's no doubt that I'd rather--??"
The girl trailed off with a puzzled look. Had she just seen some kind of emotion flash across the boy's face? It was hard to say--it had been so fast that she simply may have imagined it. However, she didn't dwell on it for too long--Gale's next words startled her at first, but her lips then spread into a wide smile. With a laugh, she pulled him into another hug.
"Always."
Opening up a box of oreo cookies as they settled down by their weapons, Eva began to offer the tray to Jinhai to try when she suddenly found herself with a half-eaten ketchup chip stuffed into her mouth. Looking up, she found herself staring at a coughing Chara.
"S-speak for yourself, Jinhai! Those things are disgusting!" They were sour, and just...strange. Why on earth did humans think to eat these kinds of things?
Grinning at Gale, Eva reached over to the open chip bag and grabbed another one, popping it into her mouth. "I'd be lying if I said that I didn't like them," She admitted after chewing and swallowing the piece, "Though they do taste...pretty strong, I guess. Anyways! Oreo?"
She held the cookies out to both the weapons and the hunter.
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