|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2026 11:10 pm
Quote: Out of Season (13) : One would think that winter would be dismal and gray, and after each snowfall there's a hefty dose of white covering up the world. Except, all winter bright patches of wildflowers begin sprouting straight through the frost--as if spring has decided to push its way into winter a few months early. Blues, pinks, yellows, and purples bloom in vivid clusters, warming the landscape with bursts of color that look impossibly alive against the cold. The flowers behave exactly like their normal spring counterparts--soft petals, gentle fragrance, and even suitable for tea or simple crafts. They’re simply appearing far too early. Whether it’s a harmless anomaly or a sign of something stirring beneath the seasons, the sudden blossoms bring an unexpected beauty to the winter chill.
"Is this....something that happens here, on Earth?" He asked, mystified. "I've been here for a while, and I don't think I've ever seen flowers like these in your winter season." They had to be hardy little things, to be poking up so early, out of the snow. Or maybe just brave, ready to bloom even when conditions couldn't be ideal for it.
Pyrrhus couldn't help but like that. And in his heart of hearts, he sort of wanted it to mean something about what might be happening between him and the man he was with tonight.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 7:31 pm
Tyndareus hummed, finally feeling some measure of relief as they left the ridiculous ice wolf behind. "Flowers don't usually bloom in winter, no," he replied, crouching to look at one closely. "I suppose this is just one of those strange things about Destiny City. There's regularly something ridiculous going on that doesn't happen in the other ninety-nine percent of the world." He scanned the flowers, then plucked a yellow one that he found pretty. It reminded him of a lily (at least, he was pretty sure—he only could truly tell you if a flower was a dandelion, a rose, or a tulip, and that last one was pushing it). He wasn't quite sure what was possessing him to do it, but he stood back up and twirled it between his fingers. "I..." Hesitating, he sighed, frustrated with himself. "I've been thinking. About everything you told me. And I discussed with another... friend of mine from your side." He nearly crushed the stem of the flower in his hands, all of his usual confidence nowhere to be found. "I want to...." Ugh. Purify sounded too sanctimonious and self-aggrandizing. Putting it as simply "leaving" didn't give it the weight it deserved. "Cross over" made him sound like he ******** died, and he was no Casper, thank you. "I don't want to stay with Chaos," he finally said, rephrasing his entire sentence as he handed the flower over to Pyrrhus. "Consider this my promise to leave it behind."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 8:00 pm
Pyrrhus nodded, thoughtfully.
"Mm. There may be something about your city," he acknowledged, "given that it even pulls those of us who come from far beyond this world." He had landed here, after all, not somewhere else on this vast planet. Something lured people here.
He sat down, among the flowers, just letting himself enjoy their presence. He wouldn't have stopped for them, once, but...after living on a barren world for so long, every touch of life felt like something special and precious, and so he longed to be among it.
And he let Tyndareus talk, scarcely beginning to hope that he was hearing what he was hearing. Had he really managed to shake Tyndareus so deeply that he was already considering taking that step? His breath caught in his chest as he carefully accepted the flower, tucking it behind his ear with fingers that trembled.
"Are you serious? Because I know how. I asked the Knight I'm staying with. We just need a Princess, and I understand there's a couple in this city." And there was Cosmos, but she felt to Pyrrhus more like a whispered prayer than a real person. Someone you called on when the Bloodfather and the Webspinner couldn't help you, and you needed an even higher power.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 8:48 pm
"Ah... The Squire I was chatting with said the same, about a Princess," Tyndareus said. "I'm quite serious. I was fighting against the White Moon to protect Earth, but if what I saw about Chaos on your planet is true of all the other planets, then what makes Earth so special? No. It is better to rid Earth of Chaos. I do not want to see my home brought to ruin. I might be overly confident, on occasion—" Completely an arrogant jackass, really, snarked a voice he dubbed Jiminy Jackass. "—but I am not stupid. Of course, Earth is special in some ways, given the strange reincarnation of the wider universe coalescing here instead of simply stopping, but that doesn't mean Earth is immune to Chaos. If you know more than my Squire friend—Carterhaugh—I'll gladly take that information."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 8:56 pm
"Recognizing that your world isn't special is better than we did, a thousand years ago," Pyrrhus said. It came out almost thoughtlessly--so many of the people he'd spoken to knew exactly what had happened, exactly how he'd doomed his world, that the thought of that being confusing didn't even cross his mind.
"I don't know the details. But I know you need a Princess, and they can do--something." He sighed. "As someone who was more often than not on the wrong side of the law, I trued to avoid associating with royalty as much as possible. But it's different, now." He stood up, carefully, to make sure that his flower didn't fall out of his hair.
"Your Negaverse database might have names that are up to date. I don't know who's reincarnated, who's actually come back into their power--all of these things are complicated. But I know a few names, and I know a Knight who'll help us contact them." Unquestionably, Kaifeng would help. The thought of anything else didn't even cross Pyrrhus's mind.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 9:28 pm
Tyndareus hummed, brow furrowed in deep thought. "I don't want to access too many files. I'm positive that sort of thing is logged somewhere to prevent treason," he said. "I'll have to rely on you. He rolled his shoulders, trying to release some tension. "And, ah... you mean to say, when Chaos came to your planet, neither of us recognized it as..." He paused in the middle of his question, eyes wide. Oh. Oh, of course. "...When it came to my planet, we thought we could use it. The way I thought I could use it here, on Earth. That's what killed me, isn't it? What doomed the previous Tyndareus?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 9:48 pm
Ah. That did make sense, on reflection. Monitoring what their people did, to make sure no one got too nosy. Plenty of worlds had been that way.
"Next we meet, I'll have names, then," Pyrrhus promised. Maybe if he was lucky, he even would have found someone willing to do it. That relied on meeting a Princess, though, and seemed more than a little unlikely. Surely he could find someone, though.
And of course Tyndareus would put the pieces together. Pyrrhus exhaled between his teeth.
"No. Not yours. You saw the results of our hubris, your past self's and mine. I don't know what happened to Tyndareus the world--it might be fine, relatively speaking, when the whole universe seems to be empty. Pyrrhus, though."
He had to tell the story, didn't he?
"The previous Tyndareus and I...we were mercenaries. Thieves. Galactic scoundrels, as it were. We worked with my cousin, Troilus, and our friend, Thalassa. Got up to all sorts of nonsense. And Tyndareus and I, we heard tell of an artifact of great power. It was said to be cursed. Infected by Chaos. But we thought--we thought we could handle it. Thalassa and Troilus thought, correctly, that we were idiots." A bitter, tired snort. "We stole it, successfully. Brought it to my world. Attempted to tap into its power."
His expression became distant, eyes drifting towards the horizon.
It might as well have happened yesterday, telling it again.
"The last Tyndareus died in the explosion. Killed by hubris. His and mine. I lived, obviously. Long enough to watch my world die."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 9:58 pm
Tyndareus's head throbbed, and he reached up to rub his temples. A small part of him was aghast at showing the small weakness, but... He felt that he could tentatively trust Pyrrhus. Just enough. Right now. "I'm sorry," he said heavily. My fault. It had been my own fault that an entire planet was ravaged and destroyed. The people, the animals... All that suffering, because I was an arrogant ********. Yes, Pyrrhus had been involved, but... it had been two versus two. If I'd been less of an idiot, perhaps Pyrrhus would not have suffered nearly as much as it did."It's not fair that you had to live with the consequences, while I escaped them." He inhaled slowly and reached forward to gently brush his fingers against the flower in Pyrrhus's hair. "I already promised I want nothing more to do with Chaos, but consider it reinforced. I... I need some time to work on getting myself out of there safely, of course. But... We should be able to communicate somehow. Carterhaugh said a Knight can send a letter to anybody with their rings. As long as we both have a Knight friend, we can coordinate something."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2026 10:04 pm
"It wasn't just you," Pyrrhus said, and for a moment, he wasn't just speaking to the Tyndareus in front of him. "We did it together. We did a lot of stupid things together, but that really was our crowning achievement." He laughed, but it was tired, and bitter.
He reached up, to catch Tyndareus's hand. Just for a moment.
"We'll get you out. I promise. Whatever I have to do, whatever it takes--" He would bargain with whatever Princess would listen, beg if he had to. "We'll do it. We'll find a way."
They had to. Pyrrhus needed this.
He needed to believe there was something like hope.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
