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 Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:34 am
Alfheim was beginning to realize he'd been stood up and that his invitation to very casually ask Zia out on patrol had been brushed off.
He did stand there and scoff and mutter to himself for a bit, both because he felt really dumb being stood up by his sister in the first place, and because he felt dumb about feeling dumb. Why should he care that his little sister didn't want to hang out with him? It's not like he wanted to hang out with her either, he was just doing Ellie a solid by checking up on her. After all, space priestesses from alternate dimensions sounded a little bizarre for his tastes.
It was still such a blow to his pride. Ow.
And also that thing about now doing what he had accomplished. He did admit, anything Zia wasn't rubbing in his face was probably something scary because she was usually bragging. If she wasn't bragging, then she didn't want him to know for a reason.
He started creeping around her usual haunt instead of doing anything sensible. He was not proud.
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Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:44 am
Nazca was having a similarly rough time of sister-hunting. It had been weeks since he'd had his extremely educational chat with Laney, and learned a little more about what he should be looking for. Weeks of turning up nothing and getting beat up by teenagers and stumbling into giant melee fights where he couldn't do much but gawk and feel extremely uncomfortable. Weeks of fruitless searching, while the police shrugged uselessly, and his bosses began to lose their patience with his ducking out of work to chase leads.
When he'd accepted his new responsibilities, it was largely because he thought the powers they brought with them would help him out. Now, he had to wonder if they gave him anything other than a headache and a giant "KICK ME" sign on his back.
He hadn't been back to 17 Waverly since then. Most of his dinners consisted of fast food or frozen TV dinners, consumed in the post-midnight hours when he got home from searching. He'd considered asking for Noah's help once or twice, but ultimately decided against it. The most important question he had in his arsenal, about these Zodiac people, had already been covered. If Noah had other resources at his disposal, he would have offered them then.
So, when Nazca spotted Noah- or rather, Alfheim- skulking behind a billboard, he considered waving and moving on. As nice as it would be to catch up and show off the fact that he was still in one piece, he had other things to do, places to go, sisters to track down.
But something about the way Alfheim was standing made him stop. He looked particularly on guard, like he was afraid of being spotted. Something about his stance was familiar, and that made Nazca head in that direction, trying to ignore the bad feeling that was creeping up on him.
"Hey," he hissed, once he was within whispering range. "Are you hiding from something?" And then, the more important question: "Should I be hiding from something?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2014 10:52 am
Alfheim jumped at the new voice and whirled around to hold up one finger and make a "SHH!".
Although he hadn't found Zia yet, not in cat-girl or human-girl form, so there was really no need to hushed voices and when he realized this, he dropped his arms and flushed red with a weird little twist of his mouth.
"Okay, uh, so hi," The squire said with unyielding awkwardness. It wasn't like he invited people to come see him at his worst and he would probably count being a super creep right up there with it. The fact that Nazca was naively asking if they should both be hiding kind of just made it worse as his eyes darted around wishing some normal twist for the truth would deliver itself on to him if he stalled long enough.
"I..." He started, talking with his hands in the pause like he could make words come. "I'm looking for my little sister, I think she's up to some stupid s**t. Thing is she was supposed to meet me and didn't show, so I'm thinking she's either in trouble or more likely doesn't want to be found. So I'm trying to track her down."
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 6:50 pm
As soon as Alfheim shushed him, Nazca was sure he'd stumbled into something dangerous. Why else would they be hiding and whispering in such a suspicious way? Why else would Alfheim have such a hard time breaking the news to him that they had walked into some sort of deathtrap?
Because he was behaving like a stalker, apparently.
Nazca blinked, wondering if he'd heard correctly. Then, ignoring Alfheim's pleas for quiet, he burst out laughing. "Oh my god," he said, trying to catch his breath. "I totally get it now. No wonder that girl thought I was some kind of creeper."
Once he calmed down, he'd get around to worrying about Noah's sister. In the meantime, he was too busy laughing his a** off.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 9:07 pm
Well. That was exactly as terrible as all Alfheim feared.
Actually maybe worse. He had expected some ridicule but not to have Nazca outright laugh in his face. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, feeling a little bit of disproportionate embarrassment that it was Nazca, of all people. And then as it went on, his tolerance waned and his arm dropped.
"Yeah okay haha I lost my adult sister perfectly capable of taking care of herself probably I would still like to locate her," He huffed, turning on his heel and making one stiff step forward to walk away. Nazca might have become self aware, but Alfheim hadn't.
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Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 9:30 pm
"No, no, it's not you," Nazca insisted. His claims fell flat, though, since he could barely stop laughing enough to get the words out. The whole thing was just so ridiculous!
Once he could breathe a little, he tried again. "I mean, it is you, but it's not just you, y'know? Remember, if anyone understands the whole missing sister angle, it's me."
Which was a sobering thought. Nazca immediately stopped laughing and looked around, just in case there were traces of this missing sister that Alfheim had somehow missed. "You need some help finding her? I don't exactly have the best track record in this area, but two heads are better than one."
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Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:48 pm
Alfheim's shoulders sunk, and he grimace a bit. He found it hard to laugh when he remembered how Kent had busted into the diner demanding answers about where his sister had gone, and how he still hadn't found Tara.
The fact Zia was dicking around somewhere just probably playing with black magic seemed to sort of pale in comparison to one's sister being missing for months on end, but that also didn't really dampen the feeling he should probably find her at some point.
"Not when they're your heads," Zia cut in, hands stiff in her sweater pockets as she stepped up behind Alfheim, making him jump and let out a very unmanly noise of shock as he instinctively hopped away next to Nazca as if the page was going to protect him.
And then he got his bearings and glared. "Where the ******** have you been?"
"Uh..." Zia just kind of glanced around awkwardly and shrugged. Fist fighting princesses and making cross dimensional deals with otherworldly priestesses of nightmare realms, but he didn't need to know that. "Out. Late. No real excuses, just because of who I am as a person, sorry. Who's your boyfriend?"
Alfheim didn't respond, but he did take a step away from Nazca to put a little more space between them.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:37 pm
The sudden appearance of the sister set Nazca's mind at ease. Sort of. He still sucked at the whole sister-finding thing, but at least now there was one less to locate, and she seemed to be in one piece and everything. That was, as far as he was concerned, a win.
And then Alfheim moved, and he got his first look at the sister in question.
They had only met once, and only been alone for a few minutes. That was more than a year ago, before Tara stopped inviting people over altogether. But after she'd started acting oddly. He'd asked a few questions. She'd evaded most of them. Or given joke answers that nobody would take seriously.
"So, how did you and Tara meet?"
"Oh, you know, in space."
She knew. All along, she knew that Tara was involved in crazy, dangerous stuff, and she'd played it off like he was imagining things. She was supposed to be the one Tara talked to. Except she wasn't, because Tara was gone.
"You." Nazca's voice was filled with venom. "You said you would look out for her! That nothing was wrong! Well, if you have all the answers, tell me where she is!"
He lunged at her, forgetting that she was Alfheim's sister, only seeing someone who had clearly betrayed Tara when she'd needed her the most.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:42 pm
Neither Alfheim or Zia really knew how to react, although Zia's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull when she was pointed at accusingly.
"W-what?"
What did someone say to that?
But then suddenly he lunched and she was overcome with a sense of 'oh, ********' and she ducked to the side, and then ran to cling to Alfheim's torso. They seemed friendly, maybe her brother would make a good shield against... whoever.
"Who the hell are you?! What'd I ever do to you?"
Alfheim tried to resit being spun around to his back was to Nazca, and ended up doing a little half step in the foiled push. Still, he looked just as jarred and dug his fingers into Zia's sweater. "Holy s**t, dude, chill out!"
He knew Zia was frustrating, but not that frustrating.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:26 pm
Chill out? Chill out?
Just like that, Alfheim found himself on the Acceptable Targets list, as Nazca tried to push him aside. Since Alfheim was both taller and stronger, this attempt didn't do much, but Nazca was too furious to notice. Or care.
"I really thought I could leave this to people like you, but I was wrong! Did you even know that she was missing? Did you even care? How dare you pretend this isn't your problem?!"
Even though he'd learned about glamours firsthand, there wasn't room for such concerns when he was grabbing- or trying to- the one lead he had left. That verbally and physically harassing her probably wasn't the way to get her help was another thought that was pushed aside, while he tried to take another swipe at her.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 8:51 pm
"I don't know who you're talking about!" Zia's voice rose in pitch to a near screech as she returned Alfheim's finger digs with a few of her own.
It was just easier to bury her head in his chest as the random guy tried to get at her with rabid purpose for reasons she has no clue about it. She'd never seen this page before, and Alfheim seemed friendly with him. She was pretty sure she didn't remember screwing him over or sending him into any traps as meat fodder, and so she hid completely and internally convinced she was an innocent and this was about to get very bad.
When Alfheim shoved her away, she didn't even question why, and just crouched down and covered her head, unable to see that her squire brother had done exactly as expected to and whirled around to meet Nazca's second lunge with an expertly aimed fist to the jaw.
"Kent," He barked, using the full girth of his lungs to sound as imposing and serious as possible. "Calm the ******** down, and keep your hands off my sister."
He didn't want to beat down his friend, not at all, but if Nazca was going to force him to choose between them then it was going to be a really unfortunate and easy choice.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:21 pm
Whatever response Nazca might have given probably wouldn't be coherent or helpful, but there was no way to know. Before he could get anything else out, Alfheim's punch caught him square in the jaw. He reeled backwards with his hands over his mouth, caught between the physical pain of the first to the face, and the mental anguish of not being able to get the answers he needed.
It had been months since Tara up and disappeared, and even with the crazy magic powers the universe had deemed him worthy of, he'd made almost no progress. He might as well still be as in the dark as she wanted him to be, to the point of doing crazy and impossible things like vanishing from a room while he watched. Magic had done nothing to help him find her. And meanwhile, other people who had both the ability and the know-how to do something about this mess were off dilly-dallying. His frustration was, he felt, fully justified.
The physical threats were less so, he admitted to himself begrudgingly, taking his hand away from his jaw. Aside from hurting like hell, he didn't think any damage had been done. At least, not physically. Alfheim was looking at him like he'd grown a second head. Which made sense- Tara did some shady things too, but if anyone went after her that way, he would have done the same thing.
Not ready to talk just yet, he dabbed at his mouth with his sleeve, in case there was blood there. Which made him realize that he wasn't wearing Nazca's ridiculous fur-lined jacket, but the brown trenchcoat he'd left the house in that evening. Looking down, he saw jeans instead of the kneepads and glowing spandex he had somehow become used to.
"Well, ********," he said, testing out his jaw to see if it still worked. Talking hurt, but not to the point where he felt he couldn't do it. Which meant that apologies were in order. But how could he apologize when he still felt like his words, if not his actions, were warranted in this situation?
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:54 am
Zia seemed to have shut down for a second behind Alfheim, hands firmly over her head while waiting for the actual violence between knights to resolve itself with hopefully little civilian maiming.
When stillness seemed to settle in after the Mercury page's 'well, ********', she dared to peek up, and then jumped to her feet. He'd powered down into Tara's brother, which was a shock since Tara had neglected to tell her this (And Zia's first assumption was always that it had been intentionally kept from her rather than mutual ignorance) and any sight or reminders of Tara were food for the starving after the way she had left her that night following their argument about Exidor.
"You!" She shouted with a point over Alfheim's shoulder, still staying firmly behind the squire and not risking any more exposure than needed. "What the ******** are you doing out here? Where's Tara?" As if she had completely missed all of his frantic questions before.
Alfheim's shoulders seemed to sink. On the one hand, Nazca had come after his sister and so it was probably definitely the right thing to not let her skull get crushed in. But when she recognized him as Kent and it became immediately apparent she was involved after all and knew the missing sister in question.
Hopefully it wasn't too bad, but he had no commentary, besides just clasping a hand over his face and groaning at his situation of being between them.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:25 pm
Deep breaths, Kent reminded himself. In and out. Yes, the situation looked bad, but that wasn't enough of a reason to resort to violence. Maybe there was some perfectly reasonable explanation. After all of this, he owed it to her to hear her out.
And then Zia spoke, and it took every last bit of his restraint not to to charge at her again. He couldn't keep his voice down, though. "Are you kidding me? If I knew that, do you think I'd be out here like this?" He gestured at his clothes, which was less effective when he was dressed in jeans and a coat. But the point still remained, or so he hoped.
"You told me to give her space. Not that she'd run away to space. How the hell is that going to help anyone, huh? Was that your plan all along?" The more Kent spoke, the angrier he got. Only the knowledge that Alfheim would probably sock him again if he tried kept him lodged in place, fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.
For months, he'd been blaming himself for this. There was a certain relief that came with laying into someone else, even if it was unfair of him to do so.
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Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 9:50 am
"Yeah!" Zia shouted with obvious venom in her tone over Alfheim's shoulder, and the squire cringed at her voice in his ear.
"It was all part of my devious ******** plan to get rid of the only person I can talk to about the important things, so I could be alone with you assholes. I thoroughly enjoy being alone with a bunch of lucky ******** that have no idea what it's like when s**t gets real!"
She didn't get a grip and realize her outburst until her voice broke near the end of her tirade. She stopped, and let her arms drop limply to her sides as she took notice of Alfheim moving away, leaving her exposed.
He powered down at that point, and just kind of stood off to the side, staring at Zia with his mouth slightly ajar at the outburst.
It didn't help the sudden, engulfing feeling of embarrassment and failure for snapping so easily, or the overwhelming sense of failure in general when it came to Tara.
"I-I... I uh...I..." Her breath seemed to leave her, and her confrontational stance weakened, She wanted to go back to crouching on the ground in a ball and cover her head like before but she couldn't hide behind Alfheim now, and they wouldn't leave her. Both mens' stares seemed to bore into her flesh and physically hurt.
"Tara's gone. I couldn't help her. Sorry. Sorry I couldn't. I didn't know how. If I did, she wouldn't have run away. But I can't do it," She mumbled rapidly, suddenly withdrawn and nervous. "Sorry. Sorry, I... Sorry."
She managed to break out of her apologetic loop, but only to turn around and make a break for it, eager to run away and hide.
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