unknownseas | There's always a lighthouse

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endgame

There's always a lighthouse

And just like that, you wake up in the basement of a lighthouse in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There's a circle of 25 pods in the middle of the room, and two more in a room off to the side, and you can imagine who is in which.

An elevator to the side of the room leads up to the ground floor (or to the first sub-basement, if you want to check out the machine that brought you here), where you can for the first time in weeks look out a window and see the sky. Its a beautiful sunny day, with a strong breeze on the grassy ground of the island where the lighthouse stands. Have you ever been this happy to hear seagulls?

You're free. Whatever comes next, you're free and you won. Take some time to relish your victory, won't you? Reunite with friends you thought you had lost, go forth and just... well, enjoy this.

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[ Zelos checks on the rest of the others, making sure everyone's mostly ok before zooming up the elevator upstairs. May as well spread out now so everyone's not clumped together. He more or less sticks to the walls of the lighthouse, more inclined to people watch for the moment. Not too long after, though, he moves to the top of the lighthouse, leaning against the banister and staring out into the ocean. This is... really nice. He could get used to this.

After awhile though, he comes back down, that big stupid grin back on his face as he places his hands on his hips. ]

C'mon, this place is too depressing, we have to celebrate! We gotta see what kind of goods this place has got hiding out!

[Zelos isn't the only one scaling the lighthouse, though Aela waits a bit before following him up. The view from up here is breathtaking, and she moves to lean against the banister beside him, looking out to the ocean.]

You had the right idea coming up here. The view is incredible.

[ Zelos shimmies a little to the side as she approaches, just to give her some space. ]

Quite the romantic scenery, isn't it? It's the perfect view for a date with a loved one.

[ He gives her a wink, but mostly drops the flirty act soon after, also looking back out. ]

So, what's next for you, then? What sort of daring adventure is on your plate?

[The first part gets a short, sharp laugh out of her, but Zelos is quick to drop the act and she doesn't comment on it otherwise. That's just how Zelos is, after all.]

Depends on how things go for Lif. We may be heading to his world to take care of a problem there, but ultimately my home is in Skyrim and that's where I'll go. Besides, I can't leave the Companions in the hands of my shield-brothers for too long. They'd be lost without me.

[...She misses them a lot, in other words.]

What about you? Do you intend to return to your home?

Sounds like you got a full schedule ahead of you, then, even without the problem solving thing. Lot of people are lucky to have you as their brother, from the way it sounds.

[ When she asks the same to him, he sighs, leaning forward. ] Yeah, at least for now. I've got a few messes that I've made that I gotta start working on fixing. [ beat ] And apologizing for, I guess. After that... I dunno, I guess it depends on whether I'm alive after that.

[ Hey, at least he's not from the Kratos route! ]

[The first part earns a pleased smile from her, but she settles as Zelos continues.]

You'd better be alive after that. I want to hear from you at some point, and I won't be happy if you manage to die so soon after returning from this place.

[thank god it's not the kratos route!!!]

[ He's sort of caught off guard about that. He knows she's always pretty serious about that kind of stuff, but... it's still kind of a weird concept to him. ]

Aela, you do care! Ah, I think I'm falling in love all over again! Don't you worry, I'll be sure to write to you every day, if that's what you want!

[ He's not deflecting, at least! ]

The couriers will hate you.

[That's not exactly a "no", though.]

Of course I care. You try to deflect from it, but I see no sense in lying about it. You're an interesting person and someone I've grown rather fond of. I want to make sure you don't go running off to do anything stupid.

[...she's just kind of rough in how she cares about people...]

[ She's up here, too, mostly because... it's nice. It's away from the crowd, and as much as she cares about a lot of them, it's still a lot. She's a little more guarded than usual, but... she also seems sort of at ease. ]

I don't think I've ever seen a view like this.

Really?

[ He cocks an eyebrow. ]

I'll have to take you to Altamira at some point, then. It's basically a resort city, there's tons of great views there. You'd probably like it.

[ The offer takes her by surprise, but only for a moment. Then, she lets out a little laugh. ]

A resort city, hm? ... Well, it'd be a first for me, but I'm not opposed. I'll have to make time in my very busy schedule...

I completely understand. The offer's on the table, whenever you can spare a few days in your very busy schedule.

[ wwwwwink. ]

[ Oh my god. She rolls her eyes, but she doesn't actually seem annoyed. ]

I see some things never change.

Force of habit, I'm afraid. If even dying couldn't squash my spirit, what choice do I have?

[ For having such a loose grin on his face, he sure is gripping the railing pretty hard. ]

[ Ah. Hard to miss that, really. Her expression shifts into something more pensive, and she looks out toward the ocean. What's he feeling? ]

... You know, I've been told I'm not a bad listener, [ she says quietly. ] If you wanted.

[ He gives her a look, his face kind of hard to read. ]

I appreciate the offer. I think I'd rather not drag you down with any of that depressing stuff, y'know? We should be celebrating.

[ Surprisingly (or maybe not), he's sort of all over the place. Guilt's probably one of the two biggest things that permeates throughout (whether it's about what he did here is hard to tell, though), though at any time she can no doubt pick up on anything from confusion to anger to concern. The other big thing is his self-loathing that always seems to lurk around, only seeming to perk up considerably when she offered to listen to him talk.

It's a lot, girl. He's a lot. ]

[ Oh boy. That is a lot, and it gets her to look at him.

... It reminds her of herself, actually. Hiding your feelings, burning yourself up so you don't ruin things-- yeah, she gets that. She seems to hesitate for a moment. ]

It takes a lot more than that to drag me down, Zelos. [ That's what she decides on, in the end. Her voice is even, and the sincerity in it is undeniable. ] I won't force you, you know. That never does any good, to force someone to spill how they're feeling... but the offer's there. Even if there's cause for celebration...

If something's weighing on someone, well... I'm more than willing to listen.

[ He makes a small noise of acknowledgement, as he turns back to the ocean. He seems to relax just a hair, as he suddenly feels a little nostalgic. ]

You know, you remind me of someone back home. I can hear her say the same thing, honestly.

[ Thinking about her is only making him feel more guilty, though. Not that he doesn't deserve it, with what he did to her, to them, but still. ]

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