The relaxation of a tactical retreat [active]

[beautifulrondo]

Character(s): Vyers, Laharl, Gwen, Flonne, and...?
Content: Getting settled in for the time being
Setting: The Netherworld
Time: Mid-dayish/early afternoon, week 37 (backdated a bit)
Warnings: |D

There was something comforting about being in the castle again, even if there was a certain amount of awkwardness that accompanied it. He belonged there and yet he didn't, his claim to the castle passed on to his son. The unending chorus of that wretched nickname only served to make such feelings worse, and even his exhausted state didn't shave away any of the sting and humiliation.

At least the guest bedroom was nice, even if it wasn't his old room. How nice it would be to sleep there again... But he didn't like the idea of revealing his idea even to memories. Not yet, at least.

Vyers gazed at the bed with longing, half tempted to crawl beneath the covers and fall asleep right then and there, but he should see how everyone else was doing first. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, wasn't it?

He gave one last glance to the bed before walking out of the room with a sigh.

Comments

[lovesamidboss]

It was nostalgic being in the Netherworld, even if it wasn't "real" as many described the other floors being. Gwen tried to tidy up, though even she was at a bit of a loss. Perhaps she had grown too used to Paixao... Still, this move was temporary. She much preferred being in the city so she could socialize with the other people in the same predicament. Sitting in the local cafes... just people-watching. She couldn't do that here.

But it did give them a few nights free of nightmares. Fresh air. Gwen didn't speak much about her own nightmares, though any of her family could easily guess what they were.

So yes, Gwen is about trying to clean and settle in, even though it's really not working well and it just feels so strange.

[overlords_wrath]

You'd think the first thing Laharl would have done once they'd arrived on the floor was to have gone straight to bed, right? Laharl would have said that was his intention, but somehow he hadn't yet. He hadn't expected to feel quite as strange as he did being here. Oh, it felt off, there was no doubt of that; he knew full well it wasn't real, but... it seemed so real at the same time.

He'd been in Paixao how long now? He'd pretty much lost track at this point, but it had been far too long as far as he was concerned. More than long enough to feel so weird walking down the familiar hallways, passing an occasional vassal who all seemed unaware he'd even really been gone. That was more than a little weird, but at least it seemed it would make staying here easier than it could have been.

At least he'd finally be able to sleep. He was finally headed to his room to do just that, passing through the throne room. He couldn't help but stop there a moment, and ended up resting a hand on his throne, still rather weirded out. He was not so weirded out, however, to not settle down on the throne, and closing his eyes.

It had also been sometime since he'd really felt like the Overlord. Few respected the fact he was a king; even fewer believed him. Sitting on his throne made him feel a little more like one for the first time in awhile. Despite knowing all this wasn't real, it was still somewhat comforting.

[love_freak]

Being back here felt like a dream. Wandering the familiar halls, Flonne felt a pang in her heart. Even though it wasn't real, it felt more real to her than any other place she'd been since arriving in Paixao. She'd been on her way to the Netherworld with Laharl before coming to this strange cage of a world, after all...it almost felt like coming home.

Her wandering feet brought her to the throne room before long. There she found Laharl, eyes closed as he sat on the throne as if he belonged there. And didn't he? Even if it wasn't really the Netherworld. She approached quietly, hands clasped over her legs as she let her gaze travel over his face.

"Laharl?"

[beautifulrondo]

It had taken him awhile to find any of the three, mostly due to the arguments he kept getting in with the vassals over whether or not his name was "Mid-Boss." How he missed the days where he could go on for months on end without that name reaching his ears... The days where people were unable to use his status screen against him! He almost forgot that name even existed.

Something had to be able to be done. This may have been a world of memories, but everything needed to fix his problem was here (access to such resources was one good thing about being back). And, memories or no, certain changes might be able to stick, might they?

Vyers sighed and rubbed his head. Maybe it would be better to think about this later.

He stepped into the throne room, unsurprised to see Laharl there. He had almost expected the boy to be asleep, but it made sense that this would be his first stop if that wasn't the case. Vyers hesitated in his approach, however, knowing others were in the room. He had a feeling he was going to have to approach Laharl as a subject, and when it came to doing that in such a familiar place--and to his own son, no less!--he had no idea how to proceed.

[lovesamidboss]

Vyers wasn't the only one having trouble with Laharl as Overlord. Gwen was proud of him, of how he was living up to his father and surpassing Krichevskoy, but... the last time she had been in the Netherworld, Krichevskoy had been on that throne. The nightmares may not be in effect here, but Gwen's mind wasn't far from them.

Gwen, still, keeps her distance, dusting the same surface as she had been for awhile now, lost in thought, only glancing up when others came into the room and spoke up.

[overlords_wrath]

The Overlord had actually almost started to doze when Flonne's voice made him snap his head up, and look at her. Whoops... right. He was still sitting on his throne.

"Uh? Flonne? What is it?" he asked her, trying to wake himself back up a bit. He at least needed to wake enough to make it to his coffin.

Noticing movement past Flonne, Laharl glanced past her for a moment, noticing Vyers and his mother were in the room too. Where'd everyone suddenly come from? It had been empty--at least he'd thought so. Then again, he hadn't really been paying attention.

[love_freak]

"How does everything look to you?" Flonne's voice seemed quiet in the still silence of the throne room. She glanced over her shoulder to the others that had joined them, smiling slightly. Her question as for them as much as Laharl, after all. "Is everything okay? I can't tell if there's anything off about this place, not like you all could..."

She'd wanted to give everyone their space to adjust to being here again but now, she felt, was a good time to try to get everyone to talk about their feelings.

[overlords_wrath]

He glanced around again. He knew this room well, since he spent a great deal of time in it. And, well, he'd lived there most of his life. "It seems... far too real," Laharl responded, gaze back on Flonne. "I know it can't damn well be, but... everything is just as it should be."

It was almost creepy how accurate it was. Even his vassals acted and responded like everything was normal. In fact, they didn't seem to even bat an eye lid at his appearance. Then again, they'd forgotten about him when he'd had that two year nap, so they weren't really anything to judge the realism of this place by.