A soldier on my own, I don't know the way

[sirnyxalot]

Who: Nyx Ulric and YOU
Where: Nyx and Luna's house, Crossbones Boxing, around town, etc
When: Late April into May, dates applied where necessary
What: Open Catch-all for various non-plot going ons
Warnings: Blanket warning for potential Ibaraki, but other than that we should be good. [Thumbs up.]
[Open]

A. Papa War Chicken has arrived!

[He knows there are chocobos in town. He isn't sure how they got here, since there don't seem to be any wild nests, but here they are. They're small, adorable, and only a minor handful all things considered. But current digs aside, Nyx has lived all his recent life in a city. He hasn't owned so much as a cat since he left Galahd. And apparently a small child or two if his fake memories were any indication.

So why is he stepping outside one morning to see a fully grown, green chocobo trying to dig up all the grass around their mailbox?!

Nyx stops short, not yet comprehending just what he's seeing. The bird is huge, clearly big enough to ride,
and seems momentarily content to remain tethered. He steps back into the house, closing the door behind him. He needs to make some calls.]


B. For all your ogling needs~

[Five days out of the week, sometimes six, Nyx spends hours working for Rumlow. It's not nearly as exciting as being a Glaive, what could be? But he's hauling weights, wiping down bags, and maintaining equipment, and in his off moments he gets to use it all. It's enough. Most days.

He'd had to adjust some old habits: learn how to tape his knuckles and turn his body into armor in the absence of leather and steel. This wasn't bar brawling by any stretch of the imagination. It was a focused style of combat that resulted in him on his ass more times than he'd like to admit, but there's a thrill in his blood every time he gets up in that ring that isn't tempered by a quiet knowledge that death could be around the corner.

Even without a partner to fight with, Nyx works out hard; pushes himself to regain what strength he'd lost coming out of the hospital. Making sure he's ready, but for what he wouldn't be able to say.]


C. Why bother locking the door when no one pays attention to it anyway?

[Before Luna arrived, Nyx had done very little with his house. He'd taken the main bedroom and then spent the majority of his time there when he was at home at all. Couldn't remember why until he started getting his memories back and realized he missed his stupid apartment in Insomnia. The house was just too big for him.

Now, though... now it's practically lived in. There are flowers decorating tables, and new things on the wall, and most of the rooms are even used for one thing or another. Nyx still spends most of his time in his room, but the rest of the house no longer feels empty. So he keeps the kitchen stocked with whatever gets put on the list on the fridge, keeps a list of numbers for whoever needs to be called if something goes wrong, and somehow manages to carve a life here.

It's weird, and somewhat wrong, but it reminds a part of him of Galahd, and every day it's just easier and easier to fall into an old routine that the soldier in him had long forgotten. He's even getting used to the regular company he gets, so whenever he's home he ends up just leaving the door unlocked so that he doesn't have to worry about someone parkouring through a window.

And sometimes, when the nightmares get too bad, one can find him sitting on his front step, staring up at the stars in the middle of the night.]


D. Choose your own adventure!

(ooc: Feel free to ambush him anywhere about town or use this to establish specific threads that might not fit into the above prompts. Otherwise, please question him about his overgrown green chicken or catch him working out in the very very rare times he's ever close to shirtless in public. Or hell, just walk in and say hi and steal his hot pockets. He'll only complain a little.)

Comments

c!

[votively]

[When Lunafreya awoke in the hospital, she felt restless, conflicted. Her memories were vague, but those feelings were vivid, and even as her memories started coming back to her, the feelings never quite went away. If anything, they only started to make sense. But even if she understood herself a little better, the fact remained that she didn't know what it was that she was supposed to be doing.

...or, at least, she didn't. Not until now.

She isn't sure what triggers the memory. She'd been with him since she left the hospital, so maybe it was just— natural. But one day, she wakes up, and she remembers. She remembers a promise. She remembers him.

It's early when she wakes, when she realizes this, but it's important, so she's up and knocking on his bedroom door.]

Are you awake?

[sirnyxalot]

[Regretfully he is, much to his own tired dismay. Sleep is something hard won anymore through exhausting himself until he stops thinking, but even then it rarely lasts. It's not uncommon for him to be up before the dawn and the amount of times she's probably caught him restlessly pacing the house isn't something he ever wanted to address. He tries not to disturb her when he can't sleep.

The knock is unusual enough that it takes him a moment to get up, the book he'd been reading still in hand as he pads over to the door to open it for her.]

Something the matter?

[His voice is soft, as if reluctant to break the pre-dawn atmosphere. It took him awhile to shake the instinctive formality he had when she first arrived, to grow accustomed to her presence in his life now, (A constant reminder that she's a force of nature all on her own. Occasionally frustrating and often bewildering.) but his tone hasn't lost its respect. She was more than just royalty, more than just an important figure to protect. Even if she doesn't remember why.]

[votively]

[He was one of the first people she'd truly gotten to know here, and yet when she sees his face today, it feels like she's seeing it again for the first time in a while. It's different from how she remembers it. She knows that now.

Her eyes pause on that scar, just briefly. Certainly, she'd seen it before, but...]

No... [She shakes her head.] No, not at all. I apologize if I've disturbed you this morning.

[It's a genuine apology, because she knows. He always seemed— distant, and somewhat troubled. It was apparent that there was much on his mind, and much he wasn't willing to tell her. But it's a funny thing, in a way, because despite that, she couldn't help but feel safe here. No other place would have been the same.

Luna hadn't thought too hard about how to approach this, however—she just knew that she had to. She opts to simply state her initial observation, reaching up gently, tentatively, with her hand, fingers lightly brushing the scar if he'll allow it.]

When last we met, you looked different.

[sirnyxalot]

[Oh.

Nyx inhales, jaw clenching as he bites down on his surprise. Her memories were bound to come back eventually, he knew that, but somehow he wasn't quite expecting this. He doesn't stop her from touching him, just searches her face. Finally he breathes out and steps back, nodding inside.]

Come on in.

[He moves back and tosses his book onto the bed so he can put on a shirt. The room itself, unlike the rest of the house, is emptier than it had been when he moved in. All the wall decorations had been moved to other rooms, as had the original bed coverings (currently folded in a closet in the hall). His desk is the only surface that's holding anything besides a book or two: an incense burner next to a corkboard full of old photos and newspaper clippings that would be very familiar upon closer inspection.]

A lots happened since then, princess.

[Defensive, but tired rather than angry. He doesn't want to throw up any walls, but it's hard to imagine being casual friends with royalty. He was still a Glaive at the end of the day, even now.]

c - first day or two of may??

[volitaunt]

[ Poe told BB-8 that the droid didn't have to go with him. It's not an order to stay at the house. He doesn't give BB-8 orders unless it's important, and besides, he's pretty sure the little droid doesn't like the house either. How massive and empty it is.

Poe doesn't remember the details yet, but he knows he's used to having a lot more people around a lot more of the time. Consulting BB-8 is half-useful, leading to a deluge of information about the New Republic, the Resistance, their base, his pilots. It's a little too much to take in.

So here he is, wandering along the neighborhood streets in the wee hours, hands in the pockets of his jeans, talking quietly to the droid keeping pace at his heels. ]

No, buddy, I believe you. I just don't remember. Give me a little time, all right? It's frustrating for me too.

[sirnyxalot]

[Nyx can hear the little droid before he hears the man talking to it. The electronic chirping isn't particularly loud, but it carries in the late hours when the already quiet little town is asleep. He sits up straighter on his porch, watching the street until he finally sees them.

Not that seeing makes it any more understandable. The little robot is beyond any kind of technology Nyx is familiar with, and definitely not something the citizens of Wayward Pines could build. The man himself is a stranger, too. Which is almost a novelty around here, when seeing someone you've never met before can often lead to remembering some long lost family. Nyx might have otherwise just sat quietly and let them move on, but altogether he's curious enough to get up and move across his lawn to say hi.

He doesn't look much like he belongs right now: Warding off the chill with a decorated leather coat like armor, he has a knife sheath strapped to his leg and another across his lower back, and while he's carrying himself like he's not particularly worried about anything there's something to his stance that implies he's ready to move if he needs to. His expression, at least, is open though, and he makes no move to hide the sound of his steps. No sense risking scaring someone who probably has no idea where he even is.]

Bit early for a run?

[volitaunt]

Bit late to go to bed, though.

[ Poe grins crookedly. There's nothing odd to him about Nyx's appearance, beyond the fact that it doesn't match their surroundings. He might not remember it, but he's seen far stranger things.

BB-8 rolls backwards a little, angling his head-dome to get a better look at Nyx. The little droid lets out a tootling stream of noises. Poe is a little surprised, still, that he can understand them. ] He wants to know why you have knives, and if you're going to use them-- Beebee, come on. Sorry. He's protective at the moment.

[sirnyxalot]

[Nyx is taken aback, eyebrows raising in surprise. He's not sure what he'd been expecting. Talking to your technology isn't unusual, but it understand and being able to, presumably, talk back... He knew a couple people back home who thought the trees could talk, but it wasn't exactly a translatable language.

It's weird to be asked his intentions by a machine. Magitek soldiers didn't have minds. Only orders.]

...not unless I have a reason to. [It's a little vague but he doesn't want to explain that being armed made him feel like he could control something here.] I haven't been attacked so far, though.

b!

[unweaving]

[ There's a lot to think about, and Aranea's comfortable with precisely none of it. The constant surveillance, the wreckage, the memories that still nest in the back of her brain like they belong there. Aranea prides herself on knowing herself, on her drive and self-determination, and having that toyed with feels like a violation.

All of that adds up to a lot of frustrated steam to burn off, and a really good reason to head to the gym. It's that or taking her lance out into the woods to murder some trees, and that seems like it'd draw a level of attention she doesn't want. She's planning on pounding punching bags until her arms feel like jelly but then Nyx is there, and the memories she knows are false still pipe up and tell her he's a friend, and that's a hell of a lot less depressing. She greets him with a motion that's more a jerk of her chin than a nod, stretching her arms behind her. ]

Need a partner?

[sirnyxalot]

[A grin spreads across Nyx's face. It isn't very carefree. One may consider it a little dark, even. There are too many questions and unspoken conversations for Nyx to be even close to comfortable. Hell, with everything that happened during the flood, Nyx has only gotten more restless. So far he hasn't collapsed, sleep deprivation or not, so pushing himself harder only sounds like the best idea.]

All this time I've known you and I didn't know you could box?

[He digs a pair of gloves out of his pocket, tugging them on as he joins her. It's a tease more than a complain. Boxing, knives, street brawling.He's not picky about what they use as an outlet. His memories are fond: vague implications that they've done this before, and having a different partner besides Rumlow would be a great change of pace.]

[unweaving]

Box might be pushing it.

[ It's been a long time since she fought without her lance, but her time before the military included plenty of scrapping - most of it dirtier fighting than she'd get into with a friend, but enough to hold her own. She stretches briefly, grabs some wrappings and sets to work on her hands. Blowing off steam is all well and good, but split knuckles are no fun. ]

I can tussle. Maybe you can show me a thing or two.

[sirnyxalot]

I'll make sure not to go easy on you.

[He seems to recall her being more than enough to handle tussling with him, though those memories didn't involve any of the strike fighting the Glaives were known for. How much of the Aranea in his memories is real?]

b

[smuttywitch]

[to say she's been out of it lately would be the understatement of the century. But Rachel's pretty sure she's been justified--not just having to mourn her boyfriend for the second time, but having to keep so much of it secret. She's been slowly getting back into something of a groove, working at the shop and secretly spelling.

But she needs to get her body moving again, to be that woman who kicks demon ass that Kisten fell in love with again. He wouldn't want her to fall apart forever, she knows. He loved her for being stronger than him, and letting herself wallow too long would be disappointing his memory. And the gym also gets her out of the house for more than work, so there's two birds taken out.

She's wearing pretty casual clothes, just a tanktop and loose pants, hair tamed with both a charm and a ponytail, but nothing sexy by any means. And she's not sure if she regrets that or not when she sees Nyx]

Uh...hey Nyx.

[smooth Rachel. Real smooth]

[sirnyxalot]

[Nyx hadn't turned immediately when she entered. He's not manning the front and half the time people only know he actually works there because he's always present. So he has no idea who came in until she's saying his name and he almost drops the new bad he's trying to hang in his attempt to turn towards her.]

Rachel!

[There's a jump in his chest as he looks at her, as usual. A lingering fondness that he'll never indulge, but can't entirely reason away by reminding himself it never happened. She looks better than she did before. Now that the memories seem to have settled.

He's dressed simply: loose sweats and a tanktop that does very little to hide the scars spiderwebbing across his collar and chest. Taking a moment to finish latching the bag in place, he wipes his hands on his pants, then focuses his attention on her.]

What brings you to this side of town?

[Nyx, her shop is like thirty seconds away.]

[smuttywitch]

[despite the fact that doing so still feels wrong, Rachel's smile is pretty easy]

Well, I figured I should start burning off all that junk food before it caught up to me, and working in the store doesn't involve that much heavy lifting.

[sure, her muscle tone hasn't suffered much, but she doesn't want to slack off much longer just in case. And mentioning the junk food itself is safe, because it doesn't voice what he knows, why she was pigging out and hiding

She's noticing more of the scarring now, and with her real memories coming back, she can't help thinking of vampire shadows--and, heart twisting, of Kisten with his torn earlobe and own faint network of scars on his neck from being one of Piscary's favorites.

She swallows that down quickly, trying to get the spunk back into her posture even if she doesn't feel it]

So, you looking for someone to spar with? No powers, promise. [she grins; now that she remembers why she can fight so well, she has more confidence in her abilities. Training with someone who has more than twice your speed and strength will do that]

[sirnyxalot]

[He chuckles, remembering that he hadn't told her yet about his own. So much had happened with the flood and Ibaraki that he hadn't told anyone. He'd wanted to figure things out first.]

You might find I'm more of a match than you'd think if you did use them.

[He crosses his arms. A cocky front more than a defensive motion. Today has been good, and her offer just makes it better.]

may 3rd - at the gym

[otrazhenie]

[ With two days in Wayward Pines under her belt, Elena felt comfortable enough to really venture out on her own and explore, try to jog some more 'memories' of this place that didn't feel quite like home yet. And she just needed some time to think, to try to process everything that was happening without an overly concerned loved one hovering around.

Of course, if that was her intention, she perhaps shouldn't have decided to check out the gym. Boxing wasn't really her thing, so she'd learned a bit back when she'd trained with Ric, but perhaps there were other things there she could utilize. Now that she was human again, she wanted to stay in shape and be prepared for... she didn't know what, actually, but it seemed like a good idea. It felt right.

She steps into the building and glances around, her boots tapping as she crossed the floor of the entry. ] Hello?

[sirnyxalot]

[Rumlow was off helping another customer so Nyx wipes his hands on a dry rag and takes a break in order to see who it was that came in. He's accustomed enough after almost a month that so long as no one asks any difficult questions about boxing he's pretty confident he can handle it.

When he sees her his expression brightens, about to greet her when he realizes that...that's not Katherine. She looks similar, but she carries herself differently, and with a start he recognizes the set of her shoulders, the tilt of her head. He takes a moment to think back; to search for the memories he knows will accompany this feeling. Saying goodbye to two little girls, not one. Having to remove tiny fingers from his uniform. Coming home to find that both girls had become young women when he wasn't looking.

Nyx breathes slowly. He's almost used to the involuntary emotions this town forces on him. Almost used to the way they creep upon him and twist his past. His expression is also almost steady as he continues walking up to her.]

You're... Elena?

[otrazhenie]

[ While Nyx might be almost used to the sudden influx of memories and emotions, Elena certainly isn't. She's still trying to get her real memories back, the ones they aren't supposed to talk about because they're from before and don't fit with the lives they're supposed to live here. She's not supposed to remember planning to marry and have a family with Damon, because that's Stefan now, and she's not supposed to miss her brother Jeremy because she has--

Nyx. The brother walking toward her who left when she was little and came back when she was grown. The brother she's still trying to get to know, to sort out a relationship with. The brother she loves instinctively and without hesitation.

It all rises up inside her like a wave, crashing into her mind with enough force that it takes her breath away. Is it always like this when they remember the things they hadn't actually lived? Or is it just because of the strength of those feelings that everything else tries to bowl her over? ]

Yeah... [ Her voice is small, and she visibly pulls herself together before trying again. ] Yes. I'm Elena. And you're... Nyx. My brother.

[ He's not, she knows that, but she also knows that he is. A brother she never had until she woke up in this town. It takes all her effort not to wrap her arms around him in the tightest hug she can manage, because she's not sure if that would be at all okay with him. ]

May 1st

[comic_relief]

<sub>[Is there a word for when a place is the most comforting and discomforting place you know at the same time? Nyx's house is represents that for Jack.

It's the second time in his life he's felt this way--moving to Akademeia had been the first, a milder apprehension behind knowing it would be his new home while not wanting to leave the old one behind. But this is different. He knows beyond a shadow of a doubt this wasn't and isn't his home, but it feels like more of one than Akademeia ever was; visiting is a double-edged sword, humoring memories that were wrongfully planted in his head while making him see himself carved into the bones of this house.

It bring him closer to long-buried memories of his real house, too, in the real Rubran village in which he'd grown up, something Jack doesn't know what to do with and tries not to think hard on.

Sitting at the kitchen counter after school one afternoon, Jack considers a painting on the wall he doesn't remember seeing before, some floral, artistic-looking thing he'd only glance over in an art store, but one he has to admit makes the house more look lived in. The fact that Nyx's... fake relative? friend? girlfriend?... is slowly but surely redecorating helps paint over some of the past.]</sub>

New stuff, huh? Smells nice in here. Must be what they call a "feminine touch."

_{[If he feels a strange and distant sadness like something has passed him by without realizing it, he wouldn't know what to do with it and doesn't think hard on it, either.]}

[sirnyxalot]

[It's leagues above anywhere Nyx has ever lived, even considering Galahd. Though his childhood home was infinitely more comfortable for him than even this place. He remembers, too, having gotten this place after taking Jack in. Couldn't raise a kid in the place he'd lived in before. It had cost way too much money and he'd spent years pretending he hadn't been struggling.

He doesn't know why it's easier now. Probably something to have to do with the house actually having been given to him. The memories didn't entirely add up.]

I expect Luna grew up somewhere where they didn't decorate primarily with children's drawings.

[Like a palace or whatever they had in Tenebrae. Nyx goes into the fridge to get them something to drink, tossing a can over to Jack.]

Apparently I live like a hermit.

[comic_relief]

<sub>[Lunafreya... The lady living with Nyx. Her name was all Jack really knew about her; so far past memories of her hadn't tripped in his brain, for which Jack was a little glad. Although he still couldn't rule out the possibility one day he'd start remembering her showing up to his birthday parties and helping him with algebra.

The latter is, reassuringly, just as mind-numbing here as it'd been at Akademeia.]</sub>

Yeah, and her and me both. _{[The remark meets with a humorless huff of laughter as he plucks the can from the air. It's something understood without being talked about in the open--that they aren't from here.]} Thanks.

Maybe the mystery gift givers thought you needed to get out more and that's why they gave you a chocobo that needs exercising.

_{[Another weird thing about this place. Where all these chocobos coming from, if not Rubrum? How do they remember chocobos without being from the same place?]}

c mostly, but with jyn as well

[ouzel]

[ Neither of them could sleep, and while Cassian was hesitant (to say the least) to encourage Jyn to be on her leg more than she should be he also recognized that he had a snowball's chance on a supernova to convince her to take it easy.

Better, then, just to be nearby.

So. Insomnia leads to walking around at night leads to Cassian more or less weaving a path through the occupied neighborhood towards Nyx's place. He can, at least, point it out, and if his friend is up, well.

They can all have a midnight stroll. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Nevermind that he's essentially trying to ensure the people he trusts know about Jyn, in case something happens. ]

Have you met Nyx? [ Better to ask than assume. There are hours in the day when they aren't in eyesight of one another. ]

[realists]

[ incidentally, jyn thinks it's better to be nearby while cassian is not taking it easy because she knows he was way more grievously injured than she was. and her ankle's not that bad honestly, her shoulder bears the brunt of her injuries and the brunt of her stress tbh.

at his question she looks up at the house he's gesturing to. ] Yeah, he helped me find my house.

[ that's right, bud, she met him first. well, ran into him first in town. ]

[sirnyxalot]

[Well, isn't this a small world?

It's difficult to see at first in the middle of the night, but Nyx's garage is cracked open a couple feet. Which would be entirely unremarkable as they passed if not for a sudden blue light and telltale charge of electricity in the air. It holds for about two seconds before something inside the garage bursts with a bright flash, and smokes whooshes from beneath the gap.

Coughing, Nyx rolls through the smoke and regains his feet, waving the smell of ozone and singed wood away from his face.]

Shit.

[He doesn't notice the two at first, staring back at the garage in frustration. The hell is he still doing wrong? He used to be able to do this like breathing air, but now it's like learning all over again.]