paixaorpg | As The World Falls Down [Active]

Entry tags:

As The World Falls Down [Active]

Character(s): Laharl and Flonne then possibly Ivan and Adell later. (And not sure about Etna right now.)
Content: Bad water effects! Laharl's tends to sickly Flonne, has a breakdown as the water messes with his emotions, Ivan reads minds accidently and Etna loses her voice! Annnd... help comes for sickly Flonne.
Setting: Actua Are (J7)
Time: TBA
Warnings: Oh lawd the angst. D: ~~And long Laharl posts.~~

Laharl sat on the floor of the hotel room, leaning back against one of the beds taking a break from tending to Flonne and check the journals. Ivan had suddenly excused himself earlier and Etna, well, he wasn't sure where his right-hand had taken off to, up to something no doubt. Unfortunately his break didn't turn out at all as he'd planned...

Nothing was going even marginly right. The trip to the festival had ended in disaster. Their cover blown, if it had even worked at all, and Flonne was hurt. Laharl hadn't been too well off himself, taking another shock like that, but he was feeling alright all things considered, but it had certainly forced him a small step back in recovery.

His concern hadn't been on himself now, however, but on Flonne. He'd taken it upon himself to wrap her wound and continued to tend to it. Someone had to after all, and she was his vassal. Despite his efforts she didn't seem any better, in fact she seemed to be getting sick.

Asking for help was sure as hell not something he made a habit of. He never needed help, but... Flonne wasn't getting better, and she was the one with the healing magic. How can the healer heal themselves when they are too sick to? He'd finally broken down and used the journal to make a post, hoping for help, and ended up finding it in abundance. For now he accepted the help of someone he felt the most comfortable with, in a strange kind of way.

This Adell guy knew him, but he didn't know him. That was weird, but it was pretty typical around here. He couldn't say he liked the guy, but he seemed trustworthy enough, and for Laharl it was a relief to have someone else around who knew what such things as "Dimensional Gatekeepers" were not to mention he had items that Laharl knew exactly what they would do. Not that he didn't think anyone else's magic and stuff wouldn't work, but something familiar was welcome right now.

After a bit, however, after talking to Adell, he came to remember just why he had avoided making any posts. It was that one Organization member again, in his journal mocking and harrasing him. Great, just great.

Laharl was very annoyed, and quickly was losing patience till he was hit with a comment that left him momentarily stunned. Shaking he slowly replied, feeling his emotions suddenly overwhelm him. It had been eating at him deep down, his unhappiness at himself for failing to stop Larxene from hurting Flonne, but now it rose up, pratically punching him in the face.

He felt sick. It hurt. His chest hurt and he bent over where he sat hunching over his journal as his fists clenched. The demon's shoulders shook as he choked back a almost silent sob. He could feel wetness forming in his eyes, a couple managing to escape down his cheeks. No! NO! He couldn't! He couldn't cry! He wasn't WEAK. Only weak cry! Overlord's don't cry!

Everything from well over the past week seemed to come crashing down on him suddenly, leaving him struggling to keep himself together. He felt like he wanted to explode. Sweet release beconned him, but he resisted. He managed to force himself to stop anymore tears from falling, but it only left him feeling even worse.

Bottling it up the best he could, he managed to continue to respond to some things, feeling a bit of relief when he saw Etna hop into the threads.

The most relief came from a man named Sephiroth. His private note with a wish to see him had surprised him, and more his words saying he believed Laharl was more than he seemed. At least someone believed him and wasn't underestimating him. Someone believed he wasn't a weak child. It helped a little.

Still, when he finally set the journal aside, he was fighting with himself, but did his best to hold it for now. The bastard had offered to come for a visit. Determined to prove them wrong, he waited to see if that bastard really would follow through and come here. Tense minutes ticked past as he sat there trying to wait and listen for any sign of an intruder and there was no sign of him at all. Figures. Just more mind games! Unless he really was more cautious of Laharl than he'd led him to believe, but it seemed unlikely.

Luxord said nothing else at least, so he thought it was over, but... it seemed that wasn't the case. Larxene. He really didn't want to talk to her, but he found himself doing it anyways. He was certainly regretting saying anything now. Should have kept his mouth shut. He just... wanted to show he wasn't afraid of them. He wasn't hiding! He wanted to stand up against them, but he quickly had realized he wasn't in any position right now to do so, although he meant every word he said to her. No matter what, he'd not let a thing happen to Flonne again. He just couldn't.

Of course though she had to remind him of what had landed him in this position in the first place. That first fight, when everything had gone wrong.

With a shuddering sigh, he bent over holding his head as his thoughts turned to everything once more. He wasn't sure how much more he could take of this. Laharl was on the verge of a break down he both did and didn't want to go through. He felt so alone, Etna wasn't here right now and Flonne was sick in bed and Ivan had slipped out for some unknown reason. His world was falling down around his feet and he didn't know what to do.

((Oh lawd I wrote a novel. Prolly gonna twiddle with this more but this is it in essence I think. Good enough for a reply when you're ready I believe Kiaxet. I blame the title on listening to Labyrinth music earlier today. It might just fit, but also maybe not. Will change if not. XD; ))

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Flonne was in a bad way, to put it mildly. All she had wanted to do was help Laharl - how had it all turned out so badly? Somehow they'd both been hit with Larxene's lightening, and then the Nobody had taken one of her knives to Flonne's arm. Flonne, having already used most of her magic to heal Laharl when she'd first found him after that long week of him being missing, didn't even have enough magic to cast the most basic of healing spells, let alone anything strong enough to take care of the both of them.

And then, somehow, she'd gotten sick. She had no idea how that could have happened - she hadn't eaten anything funny, and she hadn't seen anybody else sick so she couldn't have caught it from them...she didn't know how it happened. The lack of explanation, however, didn't change the fact that she was lying in bed back at the hotel with a fever high enough to boil water - not that she'd tested it, of course. She was too busy lying in bed, falling in and out of fitful sleep and trying fruitlessly to get comfortable.

It was after one of these short naps and a fever dream about singing dancing chocolate eggs that Flonne awoke to hear quiet noises next to the bed. She glanced around the room, trying hard not to panic, and it was only after she'd not seen anything did she remember the only person who'd been with her was Laharl, and if he sat on the floor she wouldn't be able to see him from the bed.

What worried her was, the noises sounded awfully upset, almost like somebody was trying not to cry. If this was Laharl...

Her throat and mouth were dry, and that made this even more difficult. "Laharl?" she finally managed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Through his harsh breathing as he continued to wrestle with his emotions, Flonne's voice still managed to reach him, causing him to jerk his hands from his head. Blinking for a moment, he quickly tried to pull himself together. Had she heard him? Hell... he wasn't sure if her hearing him would be a good or bad thing. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. It was bad enough all those people had seen him crack on the journal post. And yet... a small part of him desperately wanted some kind of reassurance which was something that Flonne would very likely give. It tempted him.

Raising his head, his two antennae locks became visible first, before he rose to his knees peeking over the bed. He turned only enough to only just reveal one of his eyes through his blueberry locks. Facing her she'd likely read in his expression that something was wrong. Unless she already knew. Then... then he wasn't sure what he'd do.

"Flonne? What is it?" Laharl managed to ask softly, somehow keeping his voice normal.

Wait... had she just called him simply Laharl again? She'd been doing that, but... only when they were alone. He wasn't quite sure of what the ssignificance of it was.

Sick as she was, Flonne had definitely heard him, and now she worried on top of everything else. Everything that had happened in the past week was starting to add up, and something must have topped it off while she was sleeping - Laharl definitely hadn't looked this upset before she'd drifted off.

"Are-" she tried, cutting off to make way for a fit of coughing that shook her frame and started her arm aching again. She resisted the urge to grab the wound and squeeze - it didn't make the pain go away, and it just hurt worse.

Finally the coughs passed and she settled back weakly on the bed, finally managing to finish what she had intended to say. "Are you okay?"

By the time she'd finished coughing and managed to say what she'd been trying to say, the Overlord had already gotten up and come to her bedside, picking up the glass of water from the side table and offering it to her. He just couldn't stand back while she was coughing like that. She already seemed to have realized something was wrong. In the castle it was easy to hide away, but in a small hotel room, hiding was almost impossible it seemed.

"O-oi... here..." he mumbled, holding the glass out. Serving someone was hardly something he'd ever be caught doing, but there was no one here right now, and... and it was painful to listen to. It brought bad memories of his own illness, not to mention she sounded pained. He didn't like to hear that, as it was he wasn't sure how long it'd take to erase the sound of her screaming as Larxene...

He trembled for a moment and very nearly dropped the glass, but tightened his grasp on it just before he'd nearly let it slip from his fingers. "I... I..." he started to respond.

"...F-Flonne..." he finally murmured softly, the weight sitting on him and the almost silent plea for help undoubtedly clear for her to see.

Laharl wanted all the words spinning in his head to go away more than anything. Hell, even if he could just go back to ignoring it all he'd be happy, but it just kept getting worse. He couldn't ignore it! Why was it all hurting so damn much? Laharl wanted answers... help... something. He really didn't know what to do.

Flonne looked at the glass Laharl offered, then up to his face as she noticed his grip was shaking. She could guess how he was feeling just from that, but...this was really scary. Laharl never lost it like this. Why was he doing it now?

She managed to sit up and reached out, putting one hand under the glass and the other gently on top of his, leaving it there for a few seconds before finally taking the glass from him and having a few sips of water, peering worriedly at him over the rim as she did so.

It hadn't been more than a few seconds after Flonne had taken the glass from him that she put it back down on the bedside table. Laharl was hurting and she just couldn't stand it anymore. She reached out, gently laying a hand on his shoulder, so scared for and worried about him and all but useless in her present state. "Laharl..."

Laharl sunk down onto the edge of the bed as he watched her drink. She knew. She so knew. The way she was looking at him.

He was lost in thought till he realized her hand was now on his shoulder. "Flonne... Flonne, I..." he started again, but words were faltering.

He brought up a hand to his face rubbing his brow, his fingers digging into his bangs as he let out a sound of frustration as his face crumbled, clearly showing the stress and how upset he was.

"I... let you get hurt and I couldn't do a damn thing," he started, his voice cracking as he spoke. "It... shouldn't have been like that... I'm... not weak! I.. just... everything... D-damnit..."

His words became broken as he leaned over, resting his head onto the mattress beside her, face burried in his hands. Laharl's breathing sounded almost pained, but not in the physical sense, as he shuddered at the feelings and stress came crashing down on him. Everything from today, the trip to the fair, the time spent captured and the events of the fight that got him into this. Feelings of failure, weakness, his hurt pride, stress, Flonne, Etna, his mother and father... everything just... overwhelming him.

Not even Laharl, for all his not caring about things, could handle the onslaught. He couldn't shrug it away as he always did. Never had he been put in this position. He hate it. He hated this place. He wanted to go home, with his vassals and get back to his normal life where things were far more simple.

Dryly he sobbed, tears not spilling, but the motions were there. He just couldn't take it anymore. He just couldn't. His bottle had filled up and was cracking.

Flonne's eyes widened as Laharl spoke. She couldn't believe what she was hearing - Laharl never talked like this! Never! She'd known he was hurting - but she had no idea it was this bad until...until this.

And when he started to sob, her eyes teared up. This was bad. This was wrong. It never should have happened to Laharl, never! He didn't deserve something like this! Nobody did, true, but especially not Laharl! She had to do something, to help him, but what...what could she do?

She shifted on the bed, biting her lip and trying not to make a sound as her arm throbbed again. She'd gotten closer to him, though, and that was what she'd meant to do, so it was worth it. Slowly she put her good arm under where he was laying and then wrapped it around him, pulling them both into a one-armed hug as best she could. "You're not weak, Laharl," she said quietly. "You- you're not! You're the strongest person I know." It was true - much as she admired the Seraph (and goodness knew it was quite a bit), she had to admit Laharl's physical strength outstripped his. It was something Laharl needed to hear right now. "You're strong, everybody knows you are! And...and..." her eyes were starting to tear up again, but she kept going. "And it's not your fault. None of this is your fault! So please..." she faltered a bit, pulling her arm tighter as tears started to fall. This hurt. This was hurting both of them. She wanted it to stop. "Please, don't say it's your fault! Don't even think it! It's not!" She tried to steady her breathing, to calm down, but by now it was no use - she was crying. "It's not your fault..."

Laharl couldn't seem to stop it now, he'd gotten too worked up. There was a pause, however, when he felt Flonne's arm slip under him and hug him close. He didn't fight it. He let her. It... wasn't bad, he found.

Shifting his legs onto the bed, Laharl lay there beside her, his head resting in the crook of her shoulder, tears finally managing to escape as he sobbed harder now, amidst the odd whine as he struggled still trying somewhat to stop himself, but he just felt like he couldn't. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realized something was off, but, well, it was all too late now, he'd well and truly broken down.

However, Flonne's words did help. They helped more than anything had. Flonne believed in him. It's not his fault... Flonne... Flonne forgave him, heck Flonne didn't blame him at all in the first place. That's what really mattered didn't it?

As she held him tighter he noticed she seemed to be crying too. She... was crying for him? With him? F-Flonne...

After a bit, with shuddering breaths, slowly his sobs subsided and he began to calm down.

Flonne kept her arm tight around Laharl, letting him cry and trying to stop her own tears. They were both hurting, and badly, but right now she needed to be strong for him. Finally, when her tears had stopped, he started calming down. She managed a small smile and gently rubbed the spot between his shoulders with her hand. It would be okay. They'd work through this together, like they always did.

And then the wave of nausea hit her. She winced and gritted her teeth, trying not to whimper in sudden discomfort and failing. Oh, she didn't want to worry about herself now - she had to help Laharl!

But as her stomach rolled over again and she gave a soft involuntary moan, she knew this wouldn't be going away anytime soon.

As he had calmed down Laharl became acutely aware of where exactly he was lying. He'd have leapt away in any other circumstance, but he felt too exhausted for such a reaction. Geez, who knew crying was such hard work? It was draining, but at the same time he felt better for it... a lot better, actually. It felt like some of the weight had dropped from his shoulders. It was quite a revelation to the young overlord who had shed the first tear he could remember only when they'd gone to Celestia. Despite helping him to feel better, this wasn't something he wanted to ever repeat.

Still, as he lay there a blush form over his cheeks as his thoughts returned to Flonne and her shoulder his head was resting on. He really should move... mmmm... that felt good... er... when had she started rubbing his back? Thoughts de-railed, he found himself relaxing more. He was comfortable. Well... perhaps he could lay here a moment longer...

The demon was almost starting to doze off, till he felt her wince, jerking him from his relaxed state. Tilting his head up, concerned eyes looking up at her, he caught the uncomfortable expression on her face. A stab of extreme worry hit him, as his own troubles were pushed aside as he was reminded of Flonne's predicament. "F...Flonne?"

Concern forced him to finally reluctantly move, pushing himself up. His vassal was hurt and sick and here he was having a break down. What the hell was wrong with him? Something still felt off... Well whatever. "What's wrong?" he questioned quietly. Was she still running a fever? Hmmm ... maybe he should check. Reaching out, he hesitantly brushed back her hair a bit and touched her forehead lightly before more confidently resting his hand over her brow. He hoped that guy would come soon... right... that. He should tell Flonne that help was coming.

And now, on top of her sickness, Flonne felt guilty. She'd been trying to help Laharl, and now she'd gotten him all worried again. She was - she winced again as her stomach did another flip. No, she wasn't okay...but she didn't want to make Laharl worry like this! He had enough to worry about as it was!

Her eyes opened just a crack as she felt his hand on her forehead. She did indeed still have a fever, in addition to her cough and the nausea that had just shown itself. "I don't," she started in a soft whisper. "I...my stomach..." She shifted uncomfortably, trying to get comfortable and finding that moving only made it worse. "I..." She was sad, she was sick, and worst of all, she couldn't help Laharl - in fact, she was just making things worse for him for being like this. She felt miserable. "I'm sorry," she apologized softly. "I'm sorry."

She was hot, very hot. Laharl frowned a bit and blinked as she gazed up at him. Her stomach? She felt sick to the stomach? What the hell kind of bug was this?

"Eh? O-Oi, don't apologize!" he spluttered as she suddenly was apologizing. He wasn't even half sure what she was apologizing for. He frowned as he pulled his hand away from her forehead. "S-stop apologizing... it's... it's fine. Now... what's wrong with your stomach? Are you gonna be sick or something?"

That wouldn't be good. If she was going to be sick he ought to get her to the bathroom. His own problems now pushed aside, his focus was on Flonne, which was perhaps a good thing.

Coming back, Ivan paused outside the door to the room for a second. It had calmed down a lot in there since he'd been out, but he still felt kind of on edge (and it wasn't just the sick feeling in his stomach doing it). Flonne was awake, but... he got the feeling now that something else was wrong.

Quietly, he opened the door and slipped inside. "Are you guys doing all right?" he asked. It was kind of a dumb question, since he already knew none of them (himself included) was really all right at the moment, but it still seemed worth asking.

((ooc: *reminder goes here that Ivan's still reading minds without meaning to.* ♥))

Flonne shifted again, trying to ease the nausea in her stomach even though she knew it wouldn't work. "I...no..." she managed a soft response to Laharl's question. "I hope not..." Her face fell a bit. "I...I wanted to take care of you, and now I'm just making you worry even more." She hiccuped a little, breathing still unsteady as a result of her recent crying, and looked over at him mournfully. "I'm just making it worse...I'm sorry, Laharl, I really am..."

She heard Ivan enter and turned her head to greet him, trying to twist her sadness into a smile and not quite making it. "Hello, Ivan-san...um, no, not really," she admitted quietly, "but- but are you okay?"

Why did she have to keep apologizing? He'd just told her to stop. She really didn't have anything to apologize for in his mind. And... She just said plain Laharl again, didn't she? Okay, something weird was going on.

"Tch, F-Flonne... I don't need being taken cared of," he told her, trying to figure out what possibly to say to calm her down. She looked almost like she could cry again to him. "Only thing you're doing is making yourself even more upset, stupid," Laharl continued, his choice of words harsher than the tone he was using them in.

"Just calm down, and look I didn't get a chance to say earlier, but someone is com--" he cut off as he realized the door had just opened and Ivan appeared. He sat back, still on the bed beside Flonne. "...Hey," was his awkward greeting. Ivan had taken off rather suddenly earlier, had something actually been wrong?

It would probably be pretty clear to their companion visually that something had gone on, Flonne still showing signs of crying after all, and Laharl looked a little more put-together, but still signs of what had happened were there.

Ivan forced a quick smile that faded by the time he'd finished speaking; he hoped he didn't look too green around the gills. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied, taking a seat on the corner of the other bed and setting his electrocuted journal down next to him. It was a pretty awkward situation he'd just walked into - Flonne was in a lot worse shape than he was, and he could tell she'd been crying. For a second the idea crossed his mind that Mia would be able to put at least the first part right, but she wasn't here...

Laharl didn't seem to be in a great state either; that he could tell even without looking. Ivan suddenly remembered they'd already been talking when he'd walked in. "I didn't mean to interrupt. What were you saying?" he asked, a little sheepishly.

Flonne's gaze followed Ivan worriedly as he sat. He sure didn't look fine...oh, she hoped she hadn't gotten him sick too. That would be terrible, especially since she couldn't help him the way she was. She just felt useless. She wanted to help, she really did! Why did things like this keep happening?

She blinked at Ivan's question. That's right, Laharl had been saying something when Ivan had come in. "Something..." Flonne began, suddenly realizing she didn't quite know where that conversation was supposed to go. "Someone is...?" she trailed off, looking at Laharl questioningly.

"Huh? Oh... right," Laharl said, trying to get his thoughts back on track. Right, he'd been going to mention that guy. "I spoke to someone on the journal things who knows me, apparently, although I sure as hell don't know him... yet anyways."

That whole time thing was definitely starting to get annoying. It made things so complicated.

"Anyways, this guy, uh... Adell or something, he has some healing items, so he's going to bring them over," the demon continued to explain. That was a bit ago, now that he thought about it. He very well could show up any minute now.

His gaze rested back on Flonne, "So, yeah, you'll be feeling better soon if they work."

There wasn't any reason he could see that they shouldn't, at least for her physical wounds, the sickness was more what he was worried about. He really did hope a fairy dust would help her. The Overlord really didn't like seeing Flonne... like this.

The praise 'Speak of the devil' had never been more appropriate. Just when Laharl finished talking there was a knock on the door before it opened and Adell stepped inside. He briefly looked at the room's occupants, there was no mistaking the Overlord although he did look a bit different, younger perhaps, the girl must be the Fallen Angel and there was a boy he didn't know about. Another vassal perhaps?

"Hey," he greeted the room in general, feeling slightly awkward, before he made a motion over his shoulder. Best to get the most awkward part of this out right away. "I found some Prinnies on the way here, they em....don't really look like Prinnies right now though."

"That's one way to put it," Bellatrix said flatly, following Adell into the room with Keesling and Freidrich in tow. She stopped and raised an eyebrow at the scene before her. The room was nice enough - it was the people in it that were a mess. She'd never seen the Overlord looking so run down before, and Flonne...what compassion she had went out to her. The poor girl looked miserable. The blond boy - who exactly was he, anyways? - wasn't looking too terribly fit either. She had to wonder just what she'd missed.

All in good time. "Overlord," she greeted Laharl, nodding in greeting. Just because she wasn't currently a small penguin didn't mean she lost any respect, nor did his tiredness make him any less powerful.

Keesling followed her in, hands still jammed in his pockets, still very self-conscious, and looked around the room in surprise. Wow, what had happened to everybody? It didn't look too good, whatever it had been. "Um, hi." He grinned sheepishly. At least Etna wasn't here...

Keesling, per usual, was completely oblivious to everything. "Dude," he grinned aprovingly. "Nice digs." He winced as Bellatrix smacked him over the head. Evidently some things never changed.

Adell? Ivan remembered talking to him via the journals earlier, but he'd missed anything about him actually meeting up with them, or any healing items (although that was very good to hear). That explained at least one of the unfamiliar people he was sensing coming toward them, at least. "He's here," he said, a moment before Adell and his companions actually entered the room.

He greeted them just with a nod and a wave; he wasn't the one they were here to see. He was a little surprised to be thought of as a vassal, though, when he wasn't - but he wasn't about to correct Adell when he hadn't actually said anything about it. As for what in the world Prinnies were or why these three other new people were supposed to be them, that he wasn't sure.

At any rate, he was pretty relieved. If Adell had something to heal Flonne, maybe they could all be back on their feet soon. Ivan had never liked feeling like a sitting duck, but now... it was great to know they weren't on their own.

Flonne blinked at Ivan's words, barely processing them before the door opened and a group of people walked in. Wait, how did he do that? Maybe...maybe Ivan had superpowers! Or, maybe he was an alien! Wow, she hadn't known that about Ivan before!

But these thoughts were swept away in the confusion that followed from three of the four people being introduced as prinnies. Surely they couldn't be - they looked human, at least...But maybe the one with red hair - the one who hadn't said he was a prinny - knew what was going on. "Hello, Stranger-san," she greeted him, trying to give a bright smile that didn't reach "bright" and almost didn't qualify as a smile at all. She was sicker than she'd thought.

But on top of that, she was still curious. "Laharl-san, were these the people you were talking about?"

Speak of the devil was right. That had been rather... odd timing. So this was Adell was it? Laharl eye'd the newcomer with vague curiousity, mumbling a, "Yeah," to Flonne's question.

If Laharl looked any different to Adell, it would perhaps be only his rather frazzled state of appearance, really there no no visable difference between the Overlord before him and the one he'd met that would be three years later. Unless one could actually tell when someone had grown a centimeter. His scarf would be the only real difference, as it was only a single large piece that shifted about behind him as he slipped off the bed and approached, folding his arms in his typical stance.

He didn't even greet Adell, as what was following the battle maniac had rather taken his attention. One of his rarely un-furrowed eyebrows actually lifted, as he stared at the three. "...Prinnies?" he finally said, looking rather shocked.

How had THIS happened. He knew prinnies were human souls, but... he'd never seen a prinny actually regain their bodies. Nothing like that happened until they were reborn.

Laharl was ready to question how the hell they could be prinnies, but that really wasn't the pressing issue here. He'd question them soon enough, however.

He tore his gaze away, centering it back on Adell, ignoring them for now. "You got the items?" he questioned, perhaps coming across slightly rude, but he was making it a point to get straight to the point. All that mattered right now was making Flonne better. Transforming prinnies could wait.

Etna had scurried away and hidden herself atop the awning of the balcony outside the hotel room, anything to avoid having to see Flonne and Laharl in the state they were in. Besides, her throat still hurt from earlier and that seemed like a good excuse as any to get some fresh air while she tapped away at her journal.

It just wasn't right, they didn't lose, they're self proclaimed protagonists, failure was supposed to be a wholly alien concept to them, but it was finally coming to Etna's realization to the extent to which nothing was right in this city. She hated it, how it had swallowed her and her friends up, refused to let them go, choked them in under some dome and she looked up at some fake painted sky as it drifted by.

Something started stirring down below though, -doors opening- new voices. It wasn’t that guy from the message board finally deciding he had the gut was it? Etna peeked down from the awning and angled herself as best she could to see through the part in the curtains. It was Ivan, what a relief… and some other guy and three other people? What the hell’s going on in there?

Things didn’t seem bad, but they were strange enough to coax the little demon to flip down and press her ear against the glass.

Adell rolled his eyes at the Prinnies and nodded in Flonne's direction when she greeted him. No one in the room, save for himself and the Prinnies, looked particularly well. This Larxene sure did a number on them. It made him wonder whether she was someone who was as strong as Rozalin was the day before but then, Laharl had said she had used dirty tactics didn't he?

He'd offer an explanation about the Prinnies if he had any, but since he didn't he simply murmured a "yeah" at Laharl's shocked reaction. He really had no idea how the Prinnies had been able to pull it off. They themselves didn't even know. Frankly he didn't know much about Prinnies either but judging from the Overlord's reaction, spontaneously turning human wasn't something they did on a regular basis.

There was a slight raise of an eyebrow, at least the Overlord's attitude was still the same. He couldn't blame him though, he'd probably be the same if it were any of his friends who were hurt and sick. "Yeah, right here," he said as he fished various healing items out of his pocket, Fairy Dust included, and handed them over to Laharl.

"Yes," Bellatrix replied succinctly to Laharl's question. "Prinnies. Or at least, we were." So far as explanations for the sudden transformation went, she knew as little as everybody else.

Keesling was simply relieved to see the healing items produced and handed over. "It'll be alright," he tried to smile at Flonne, going for reassurance. "You'll be better in no time."

Freidrich had decided not to heed Bellatrix's rather violent warning and was inspecting the room with a detached, satisfied air. These really were nice digs. Too bad they weren't his.

Ivan watched the exchange with tired, detached interest. Oddly, he was finding it easier to tune out the psychic background noise the more of it there was. Maybe it was just the smell of burnt plastic from his journal distracting him, though (although that did nothing for the overall sick feeling).

He let his eyes wander, and jumped when he saw someone's shadow against the curtains - but a second later he realized it was only Etna, and let out a sigh of relief. This whole business really did have him spooked. I don't think anyone'll mind if you come inside, Etna, he said to her mind, quietly.

Laharl accepted the items, pausing only to quietly mumble of something that might have been in fact a thanks, before quickly returning to Flonne's bedside.

"Here Flonne," he said softly, as he passed the healing items to her, but for the fairydust, figuring he'd go abouts using it on her now, while she healed herself.

Activating the item, he released the magical dust, and watched her for any change. Laharl was very hopeful it might somehow help her strange illness. It was a shot in the dark really, but it was worth a try. Luck was something they'd been rather lacking lately. It was about damn time something gave them a break.

Flonne pushed herself into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard for support and trying not to show just how much her upset stomach was bothering her. It didn't work so well, especially when her stomach flipped at the thought of eating the chocolate bar she'd been handed.

She saw Laharl activate the fairy dust, watched it float in the air around her...and felt her stomach settle. She felt cooler - her fever was gone - and an experimental deep breath told her that her cough had disappeared as well. The fairy dust had done its job: Flonne was no longer sick. With that reassurance, she ripped the wrapper off the chocolate bar and devoured it as though she were starving - which, now that she knew her stomach wouldn't betray her, she was. She'd barely finished it before the pain in her arm began to subside, disappearing in a matter of seconds. She gave a contented sigh. "Looks like you were right, Stranger-san," she smiled at the boy who had just reassured her that she'd be fine.

That smile then turned towards both Laharl and the red-haired stranger who'd given him the items. "Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you so much." She'd probably never be able to thank them enough, but at least that was a start.

But now that she was feeling better - still tired, yes, but better - her thoughts turned to Ivan. Was he sick too? She pulled at what little magic she had and found enough there to cast an esper. That should help him, but...well, maybe she should ask first.

Etna stood there, her face smooshed against the glass of the door, a small grin flickering on her face and her tail flitted a bit. Eavesdropping was an old pastime of the little devil's and though unnecessary, it held a slight therapeutic value for Etna. Until she was interrupted by a polite voice quietly pervading in her thoughts.

I don't think anyone'll mind if you come inside, Etna

Etna gave a shivered jump, She had forgotten he could do that! Oh well, the jig was up anyhow, so she might as well go inside where she could hear more comfortably.
Slipping the door open, the demoness stepped inside and let open her mouth to ask about who had missed her, but though she moved air and moved her mouth, she produced no sound beyond that of her footsteps and a soft hiss of air from her throat.
With an eerily silent gasp, Etna began a shocked realisation, which she attempted to say out loud, but still could not manage to phonate.

It was then, that She remembered that she hadn't said a thing aloud since screaming before...

Edited 2008-01-07 19:22 (UTC)

Adell frowned a little, taken by surprise when the Overlord actually thanked him. It had been a quiet mumble but Adell had caught it nonetheless. "No problem," he called after him not as quietly and simply opted to stand back and watch.

"It was nothing," he replied and returned Flonne's smile with a confident grin of his own. He was quickly distracted by Etna's entrance however. Had she been there all the time? Somehow that wouldn't be surprising.

"Hey Etna," he greeted her almost casually. Hoping that maybe, just maybe, she would recognize him. He was quick to realize something seemed to be wrong though and he tilted his head curiously at her weird behaviour. "You alright?"

Ivan blinked at the strange dust that Laharl had set floating around Flonne, but the result was immediate; she didn't look or feel ill anymore in the slightest. What was that stuff? Fairy dust? He didn't want to be a bother, but...

"Do, uh... do you have any more of that stuff?" he asked as casually as he could manage.

(ooc: sorry for the late!fail!tag, orz)

Ivan probably wasn't feeling well, Flonne decided, if he was asking about the fairy dust. She didn't know if the red haired stranger (whose name she still hadn't asked, she'd have to remedy that soon) had any more, but she knew she had enough magic left to do something. "I can help you if you like, Ivan-san," she offered with a smile. After all, Espoirs were easy.

"Oh, hello, Etna-san!" It took her a bit longer to notice something was off, but like everyone else in the room, she finally did. "Etna-san? Is...something wrong?"

Laharl couldn't help but be relieved as the items did their trick and seemed to fix Flonne right up almost good as new. Yeah... it was definitely a relief.

However that was short lived. His relatively pleased expression turned to a frown, "Oi, Flonne! You don't have enough magic to be doing that!" He did not want to see her exhaust it again. They both still had a ways to go to recovering in that respect. She shouldn't be pushing it.

Before he could yell at her more he was distracted by the balcony door opening to reveal Etna. So THAT'S where she'd been. "There you are, Etna," he commented, as she stepped in. What the heck had she been doing? Eavesdropping probably. Oh well, whatever. Not like it mattered in this case.

However all wasn't right as Etna made no sound. Nothing. Etna was NOT known for being silent, and she had been rather quiet lately, but this took the cake. There was no greeting of any kind and she seemed shocked about it herself. Arching a brow, Laharl looked at his vassal quizzically, forgetting about Flonne for now, "Oi, what is it?"

Edited 2008-01-25 07:43 (UTC)

Oh God, what had she done to herself now?
Etna tried to yell, pushing so hard she actually lifted off the ground, but it didn't amount to any sound beyond the equivalent of an oddly furious flat tire . She tried again and she still couldn't seem to invoke her voice-box, even though the Etna and her voice were typically very close.
Maybe, she had lost her voice from not using it or just maybe she had managed to tear something! If the world can't hear her sultry voice, she'll be relegated to a comic relief character who only shows up in the background to hold up a signpost that points out the obvious! Her future as an Idol would go the way of all the other greats, dieing young and beautiful!

OOoo, she wanted to throttle someone or something that she could blame for this. Even if it was in all likelihood her fault, it didn't mean she couldn't find a scapegoat and throttle them until the problem was solved.

Etna flailed, trying to work out some charades to explain her distress, all of which amounted to the rather unimaginative symbols of pointing down her throat and choking herself.

"Sure," he replied to Ivan as he fished another Fairy Dust out of his pocket and tossed it over. It definitely didn't seem like a good idea for Flonne to be using magic so soon after recovering so some more Fairy Dust it was. The boy certainly looked like he could use it. He turned back to watch Etna with an unimpressed expression. All the flailing wasn't that necessary, she could have just written down somewhere that she had...

"You lost your voice?"

The former Prinnies watched as Flonne was healed. Good, that was one problem out of the way.

Etna, however, posed a completely different one. It was easy to see she was pretty upset, and experience had taught the Prinnies that an upset Etna was a violent Etna. They had no guarantee that their human forms would deter her, or that they would be able to take the same amount of damage as their normal Prinny forms.

So, by quick and silent consensus, they snuck out of the room. Maybe they'd face up to Etna someday, but today was definitely not that day.

"Thanks," said Ivan, almost catching the item Adell tossed his way, but fumbling it into his lap instead. He picked it up quickly, pretending he'd actually caught it, and looked it over curiously. Now how exactly did you use - oh, there we go. He activated it and let the dust settle over him.

And just like that, it was quiet again. The noise in his head subsided to nothing, and the sick-to-his-stomach feeling vanished just as quickly. Frankly, he couldn't help but be impressed at how effective it was.

He watched Etna's flailing with confusion and a little concern. She'd lost her voice now? Had everyone come down with something or other? he wondered absently (although if Adell had more of whatever Flonne and himself had used, maybe it wasn't so bad).

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