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 Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2021 2:09 pm
It had taken Gideon way too long to try and resituate things in his civilian life. Not because of any physical or emotional injuries carried over from months spent in the Rift, but because how could he even begin to explain the situation, when he barely understood it himself? His grandparents, his friends, his colleagues at work, they'd all assumed he was dead, and it wasn't like Gideon could blame them for it. Missing people weren't insanely abnormal here.
So to just show up back at his home, back at work... It wasn't poorly received, by any means, but Gideon didn't have any of the answers anyone wanted from him. He couldn't put reason to his months' long absence.
Where was he?
Nowhere he was sure how to describe.
What happened?
Something knocked him out, and he was unconscious up until the point he wasn't.
How did he make it home?
He just walked.
Why?
He had no idea.
It was pretty much nothing to go on, and he'd had a hell of a time convincing his grandparents that he was okay, and no he didn't need a hospital (since they weren't privy to his time spent in the Negaverse medical ward), and yes, it was really him. It was almost comforting how they'd sobbed over him and clung to him and wouldn't let him out of their sight for days. Days. He was alive, and he was fine.
Work hadn't been quite so touching. While his comrades at city hall were plenty pleased to see him, they took the lack of anything regarding his whereabouts more seriously. They were just supposed to believe he'd been unconscious for three months with no idea why? It seemed more likely that he'd gotten stressed under the workload and turned tail until he'd calmed down enough to return.
But that wasn't exactly what they wanted to see in a young man trying to make his way into the line of work Gideon was interested in. It would have been easier and more believable to tell everyone he'd just needed a break and left... But it wouldn't be true. And he didn't want his bosses thinking he'd behave like that.
So he'd have to try stupid ******** hard now to win back their faith in him. Great.
But once things had cooled, and he was beginning to settle back in, Gideon decided it was time he looked for someone that would have information. Probably not information Gideon could share with his friends and family, but at least something Feldspar could be aware of if anything else unfortunate happened in the future.
Feldspar wasn't going to let this incident make him afraid of continuing his hunt while he worked for the Negaverse. Anyone could be attacked by a youma. It just happened to be him that time. Bizarrely. Probably a fluke. Wouldn't happen again. Surely.
He powered up away from his home and sent a message to the only person he could think of who would assuredly know more about this than anyone else. General King Axinite would be able to pull Feldspar to Negaspace, since he was unable to do so on his own, and maybe, if the sovereign had time, he wouldn't mind if Feldspar harassed- er, questioned him for a few minutes.
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2021 5:51 pm
Axinite must have always had his tablet on him; the message was read within a moment of it being sent, and only a few seconds after that was the familiar tug of being summoned. Right into Axinite’s office. It was as it always was--organized, except for whatever project he was working on at his desk, and a plate of fresh pastries resting on the edge, closer to the empty chairs for guests than to Axinite himself. There was a pot of tea sitting, cooling, behind him, and Axinite had a cup of his own. “Lieutenant Feldspar,” the General King greeted warmly, and though he looked like he could have benefited from a bit more sleep, it was a testament to how hard he was working for the Negaverse. “It’s so good to see you up and about. How are you holding up?”
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2021 6:54 am
Feldspar had known what would happen, and he'd been ready for it, expecting it, but as he was pulled from the city proper and into the General King's office, 'knowing' and 'expecting' still weren't enough to keep him from staggering forward at the strange momentum. He smacked a hand to the edge of Axinite's desk to steady himself, causing the plate of pastries to rattle precariously. "Oh s**t," he notched them with his palm further onto the sovereign's desk, skootching them into the path of whatever project he was working on before Feldspar could even realize there was anything else to be looking out for. "Ugh. Sorry."
He thought to try and better right things, so that they'd be more in line with how they were when he arrived, but really it just seemed like he'd probably make everything worse. He pushed away from Axinite's desk to stand more solidly before it, and so as to not actually be touching it.
Feldpspar puffed out a sigh, blowing a wayward strand of hair from his face as his shoulders dipped and his posture slumped. "I mean, it's not been a great experience trying to explain to everyone where I've been for the past three months without telling anyone where I was, so... admittedly not perfect," he said in a particularly light and airy tone, contrary to his words. "Fine in the sense that I'm not physically unwell, and no one died while I was away, which is just a huge shocker to me, if I'm being honest."
"So, y'know, pretty eh. Could be better, could be worse." He shrugged.
He summoned his cane, and bent his bad leg to cross in front of his good leg as he rested his weight to the opposite side. "Anyway, nice to meet you. You look pretty busy, and exhausted besides, so I can come back when you're-" He'd been considering saying 'more rested,' but that seemed unlikely at any point, from what he'd heard. So he instead settled on, "When it's more convenient, if you prefer."
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Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:01 pm
“No, no,” Axinite gestured to the seat before his desk. “Now is perfect timing, I was just about to take a break. Please, take a seat. We can go over anything you like.” He leaned back in his chair to relax a bit, and reached to lift the teapot he kept behind him. Pouring himself a glass, he said, “Can I get you anything? I have tea, and energy drinks. And snacks, of course,” he nodded to his desk. “Fruit, if you’re feeling a bit more healthy. Whatever I can do to make you comfortable. I’m sorry to hear about your struggles. I’d like to see what we can do to push you towards the ‘better’ category. So if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 7:32 am
Not one to turn down a good seat, Feldspar dropped rather unceremoniously into the chair before Axinite's desk. He dismissed his cane with a flick, having no current use for it, and then settled back with an exaggerated sigh of his own. He wished he knew what exactly he wanted from this conversation or at least knew what he was hoping to hear. But whatever he got out of it, he was still pretty sure the head of Information would probably have more to share than anyone else.
"Just the tea, with sugar if you have it, thanks. More of a "Flamin' Hot Cheetos" rather than a "pastries" kinda guy, myself." And this absolutely did not seem like the time nor place to be threatening with bright red, grubby, Cheeto dust fingers.
"It's probably as worked out as its going to be with my family and job, at this point," he said with a shrug. Not a whole lot of room to get "better" in those regards, unless he wanted to start trying to go back on anything he'd said previously. Seemed way too slippery a slope when dealing with politicians and analysts, as he did. Better to just leave it as it was, rather than start bringing in any new information into those areas of his life.
So it was definitely just a personal mater, then. More important to him than it was to anyone else.
"I guess I mostly just want to know why?" Feldspar said eventually. "Sylvite told me where you found me, and I remember being in the city. I hadn't been in the Rift, and I wasn't harassing any youma that crossed my path. It just seems like it came out of nowhere, for no reason. And no one had even warned me that I should be worried about being attacked by our monsters while I was powered up."
"So I guess I just need- something to go on, here?" He said uncertainly. "Should I be worried about it happening again, or what do I need to look out for, or-?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2021 8:50 pm
Axinite was quiet for a moment; he exhaled, and rose to pour him some tea. As he filled the cup, and just before he reached for the sugar, he answered, “It’s an incredibly uncommon situation, Feldspar. It’s not something we ever prepare for. Things like this don’t usually happen, so there isn’t a reason to warn you. Typically, the only place you have to worry about youma is in the Rift, and I know we’ve given extensive warnings about venturing in there, especially alone. For a youma to attack in Destiny City…” His voice trailed off and he stirred the sugar into the cup before he placed it at the edge of his desk, easily in reach for Feldspar. “Theoretically, it shouldn’t happen again. I think you got incredibly unlucky. The youma was fixated on you. But, now that it’s been taken care of…” Well, the best they could hope was that it wouldn’t happen again. He shook his head. “I honestly can’t say I’ve experienced a youma behaving in that way. What do you remember, if I may ask? Did you notice anything strange before hand, or was it out of the blue?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 1:14 pm
The Space Cauldron I'll close it there, thank you Kyu! <3
Great. Another thing that had happened to him that shouldn't've. Another uncommonly unfortunate occurrence that he had to pass off as his 'bad luck.' And he did have quite bad luck, didn't he? Calling him 'unlucky:' Axinite didn't even know the half of it. Though as Gideon slid the cup off the edge of the General King's desk, he actually considered the thought that maybe Axinite did know. If anyone knew anything about his past, wouldn't it be him...? He took a sip from the teacup, couldn't quite hide the little scrunch of his nose at a flavor he wasn't expecting, and set the cup back down.
"Man, it just sucks a little, y'know? I wouldn't've even thought to be all that wary of youma while I was powered up- Like, there's already enough out there I should be looking out for." And it wasn't like he'd be all that apt at fighting or running. If he couldn't rely on his tongue to get him out of a situation, he probably wasn't getting out of that situation.
And youma seemed to care very little about anything Feldspar said to them.
He tried not to be bitter that things couldn't just work out every now and then.
But it was mostly a futile attempt.
A warning pressure started to build behind his eyes. He leaned back in the chair, folded one ankle over his knee, and breathed out heavily. "It shouldn't happen again?" He prompted, an airy and blasé tone concealing a certain degree of doubt (how many things that shouldn't have happened to him, had happened to him, at this point?). "Guess I can't expect much better than that..." Even if he wasn't frustrated at Axinite specifically, Feldspar was frustrated. He'd lost months of his life. Almost lost his job. His poor, old grandparents had nearly grieved to death. He didn't know what he was expecting besides 'shouldn't happen again,' but... He'd been expecting something.
He could feel his heartbeat thrumming in his skull now. Feldspar rubbed the heels of his hands into his eyes.
"I don't know, nothing felt all that strange at the time- until it was, I mean. If I'm being honest, I don't usually run into youma in the city ever, so I guess that stuck out a little. And it mighta stared at me a bit, and it mighta made some sounds. It's hard to remember exactly." Anything more specific than that? Well, it had knocked him unconscious, so the details were hazy... "I didn't do anything to piss it off, if that's what you're asking." Hadn't rolled up and tried to snatch a starseed from it or anything. Hadn't taunted it- Because Feldspar wasn't that much of a fool.
He thought they'd each been minding their own business. And then they weren't.
A heavy sigh slid out of him, and he reached for the cup to down its contents in a few quick gulps before standing. "Ugh, sorry, Boss. Kinda getting a headache. Think I gotta go out for a smoke or somethin'." And then to keep things lighter, he gave a helpless shrug and said, "You'd figure this would be the perfect time to quit after going without for a couple months, but I guess it doesn't count if you're asleep for it."
He took a few steps around the chair, back toward the office door. "Rain check for now? I hope we can talk again another time."
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