(Awash & Hugtopia) IC contact

[meridio]

Text | Voice | Video | Action

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Somnus is slow to respond to text messages and accept calls.

Comments

[meridio]

[Red and blue. How fitting for this otherwise plain box.

And barely coherent, but coherent enough for Somnus to guess at what word that's supposed to be. Unfortunately for Noctis, the one to greet him won't be Lunafreya. Somnus coaxes Noctis back to the waking world in a low voice.]

The Oracle is not here.

[Neither of them, in fact.]

[carbungle]

[???? Somnus, what?

Noctis opens his eyes properly, his gaze shifting from Somnus, to their joined hands, to the otherwise empty room, then back to Somnus again. Wow, she sure isn't. But this is his house, so he wouldn't expect-

-oh.]

Pyra?

[Ah shit, he fell asleep on her, didn't he.]

[meridio]

[That's still not the right name. But Somnus understands what Noctis means. His hand over Noctis' is light, poised for quick extraction should the latter find the contact disagreeable.]

She retired from your side once I returned.

[No word on what she felt about his falling asleep on her, but the implications should be plenty enough.]

[carbungle]

[Noctis does not actually withdraw despite the loose hold; instead he closes his eyes again and groans softly.]

Seriously... I'll have to apologize later. That's such a kid move.

[meridio]

[It was immature, certainly, even if she didn't appear to have taken offense. Since Noctis recognizes this, Somnus moves on.]

What will you do now?

[carbungle]

Now? I should probably go home...

[This is comfy, though, it's hard to move. And he slept in a weird position so he can already tell he'll be limping for hours, and that kills any incentive for moving too quickly.

Rather than getting up, he rolls carefully to lay on his back and stretches himself out, letting his leg lay flat across more of the couch- which means he has to slide backwards into Somnus' space. Grandpa lap has been upgraded to pillow, whether he likes it or not.]

...Hey, want to check out the museum? Look for horses, maybe.

[meridio]

[Fortunately for Noctis, Somnus is dressed in a thick tunic and divested himself of his cape earlier by the door. There'll be no uncomfortable buttons on this pillow.

As for the suggestion of visiting the museum—]

Very well. When?

[carbungle]

[Not that he hasn't slept on worse things in the past, but he's grateful for the lack of lumps beneath his hair.

Now that he's rolled over, he shifts his leg, working through a couple of simple stretches to ease out the stiffness. There's no subtle way of doing this, so he just tries not to focus on the fact that he's got an audience.]

When I get up? ...If you're free, I mean.

[meridio]

[This audience understands full well the necessity of stretching after a nap. He pays it no heed.]

My hand is yours. Where you go, I will follow.

[carbungle]

Yeah, I figured as much.

[He gives their already-joined hands a lazy wave.]

Wish we had a system for earning in your sleep back home, the way it works here. I'd be drowning in gil.

[Imagine all the cool car upgrades! All the expensive energy drinks! Instead of a hunter rank, he could have a nap rank... that would be living the (literal) dream.]

[meridio]

[Unfortunately, he can only be rewarded in AP and EXP.]

No earnings come cheap. There is a cost to the system.

[So long as the gods need them, they'll be here. A system that empowers the gods, though—how would it fare against the Scourge . . . ?]

[carbungle]

It isn't cheap. We're working hard.

[He says, lying on the couch doing absolutely nothing else.

And doesn't 90% of his power for Scourge-defeating come from napping for 10 years? It's clearly the best tactic.]

[meridio]

[Napping is the official sport of Lucis, endorsed by Bahamut himself.

Sustained contact takes a concentrated effort and doesn't come easily to everyone. Noctis was rather clumsy at the beginning, himself. In a way, they're working hard. His gaze drifts to the tablet on the table. But they all need to work harder.]

[carbungle]

[As if on cue Noct's eyes drift in the same direction after a few moments of quiet, remembering what he'd come here for in the first place.]

Hey, question. If you were gonna pick a favourite thing to fight from back home, which would it be? Like a beast or a daemon.

[meridio]

[He turns back to Noctis. Fighting daemons brings him no joy, and he hasn't battled beasts in so long. There's a moment as he thinks.]

A hardy beast.

[carbungle]

[Like pulling teeth--]

Got anything more specific?

[meridio]

Why do you ask?

[carbungle]

Why do you hate giving straight answers?

[Answering a question with a question is the worst gramps and you should know better.

It's not like it's a big secret, though, so he sighs through his nose.]

I'm working on a thing for the VR cafes. A game where you can fight monsters.

[meridio]

[He's never had good manners, sorry to say.

But that just makes his previous answer irrelevant. He'll expound on it for Noctis, anyway, even if he isn't terribly invested in virtual reality.]

While a hardy beast provided sport, it could then be distributed as meals and goods. I have no preference.

[carbungle]

[....

literally the worst. the worst, grandpa.]

Y'know, the idea is to get intel that'll help convince you to play it with me. You're not aiding my case, here.

[meridio]

[Just port the bass from the fishing game.]

You do not need intel to convince me.

[carbungle]

[.........DUDE. That would be awesome.]

You sure? Because I'll hold you to that.

[meridio]

[Now go forth and unleash the basstastrophy upon the players.

Anyway, Noctis doesn't need intel. He needs something else that's much simpler to provide.]

We must continue to work hard.

[carbungle]

Mm... fine, but on our own terms.

[The people here keep giving them fun things to do, so the intent must be for them to enjoy themselves while saving the world. He plans to do just that.

But for now he's got a self-appointed mission, so at last he tilts and rolls himself upright, letting go of Somnus's hand to stretch his arms up over his head. Ohhhh boy, yeah, gonna regret that couch nap.]

C'mon, let's go find some horses.

[meridio]

[On Noctis' terms, then. Somnus is only here to follow, but he'll be the first to rise from the couch, giving the flowers on the counter a second glance as he does. Once Noctis has gathered his things, they can go and see what the museum has to offer.

Do they find those horse? It is a mystery. But look, they do.]