(no subject)

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[There's a bit of an awkward stumble to Lloyd's steps once his surroundings shift, from the shop and the forest around it to the sudden expanse of stars that he had seen earlier. He had no idea what brought him back to the shop, but here he was, and... now he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. What was there to do in seemingly endless space?

Eventually, he notices the information kiosk, and he spends quite some time just staring. Because really, a kiosk in space? Curiosity makes Lloyd go near it. His dislike of basic tl;dr, though, makes him pick the paper version of Nathan's guide to space with a promise to read it later, after looking at the other option and realizing he had no idea what "pretentious" meant.

With the brochure in hand, Lloyd looks up at the sign for a moment, then the paper, then down at the starry horizon below his feet. He seems to be lost in thought, as if deciding if he should stay here or not. He's got class, after all...

Eh. He could stay here a little longer, and his teacher will surely believe him. ... Probably. Hiding a shiver over the thought of her not doing so, he lays his palms against the desk of the kiosk and lifts himself up a little, trying to see past it and out through the plane.]

Hey! Is anyone else out there? Anyone? [Because it sure would be nice if he wasn't the only one who was late for school thanks to being distracted by being sucked into space.]

Comments

TIME FOR HALF THE SYMPHONIA CAST TO FLIP

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[There's a boy around the same age as Lloyd just /standing/ there, mouth open in shock.]

L... Lloyd?! What are you doing here?

[The question is asked without much aggression, just surprise. Of course no one comes here on purpose, but-- but Marta is here too. Marta is more important than everything and if they lose a core because of this place... Getting it back will be hard.]

Except Kratos won't flip, but you know. Whatever.

[cruxified]

[Lloyd might feel some dark eyes on his back. They belong to a swallow-tailed shadow... and then they shift elsewhere, deeming the kid unimportant for now.]

Yes.

OH SHI-

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[Lloyd turns at that voice, and... does not recognize this person, but apparently they know him. Someone from Iselia, maybe? ... No, Lloyd knows everyone in Iselia. It's a tiny enough village where you know anyone and everyone there.

So, he pushes himself off of the kiosk and faces the boy, looking none too impressed.]

And who're you to ask?

Kratos doing a flip would be pretty awesome though.

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[OH WHAT SUDDENLY-

Lloyd nearly falls off of his perch as he whirls around to see who spoke out of nowhere, and-

Properly does fall, when he sees the shape of his body surrounded by stars. Something... Something stirred in him. It was a very strong sense of déjà vu, as if he's seen... something like that before. That shape surrounded by stars...]

... Hey. Hey! [That guy's not paying attention to him, so Lloyd feels he has to get it back. He even strides forward, ignoring the fact that he was stepping so carefully along the unseen floor just a moment ago.

Where has he...]

[clinical]

[Someone is right behind Lloyd! Because no one ever taught him not to appear out of nowhere with the intention of unsettling people.] You might try cupping your hands and calling. To magnify the noise.

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[ASFJ;DSFJ well, that certainly makes Lloyd lose his perch on the desk and whirl around to see... some guy. Right, okay. No reason to look so alarmed.

He crosses his arms, frowns and purses his lips, as if that didn't scare him at all.]

I... I knew that. But it looks like you heard me anyway.

[clinical]

Oh? Were you calling for me?

[In a mirror universe, he can be immediately helpful.]

[formervanguard.livejournal.com]

[Staaaaaare.]

Lloyd?!? Wha-.... What are you doing here?! How did you-...?!

[Maaaaybe she should hide somewhere. You know. With the Cores and all. Uh...]

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

Uh... [Looking at him now, he probably looks more like a teacher than a student. Well. There goes his plan to ask for a good excuse for being late.

Lloyd lifts a hand to rub the back of his neck as he glances off to the side to think.]

What... is this place, anyway? I haven't looked at that guide thing yet. [In fact, it's still sitting on the kiosk, just waiting to be forgotten.]

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[Someone knows his name? But the voice doesn't sound familiar... He'll still lower himself to the... invisible floor... or whatever it is, and look at her to see if he just couldn't recognize her voice.

... Nope. So how does she know him? He frowns and puts one hand on his hip; he looks pretty relaxed, but he's always prepared to spring just in case she decides to attack him.]

Since when did I give you my name?

[formervanguard.livejournal.com]

Huh? You... Of course I know your name! What are you talking about?

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't remember ever giving it to you. Did someone else tell you who I am?

[clinical]

[Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd. You should really read the brochures. It protects you from things like this:]

My, my, you are eager to force old men into boring explanations, aren't you? I'm afraid this is a special punishment dimension for those who have committed great crimes. [And let's see: not reading the paper, forgetting it, trusting the words of a stranger first. So going out on an educated guess.] For example, filling out forms incorrectly or forgetting to do their homework.

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[... And Lloyd DID forget to do his homework.

OH SNAP.]

Wh... What?! But I was... uh, going to do it on the way! [More like he was going to ask Genis to do it for him, but that's still the same thing...!] B-Besides, what kind of great crime is forgetting to do your homework, anyway?!

[clinical]

I see. You don't care at all for the hard work your teacher put into creating something that would test your abilities and inspire you to improvement. That's very sad indeed.

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[There's someone shouting over there. Botta should go over and have a look at who that might be.

Apparently, it's some human kid dressed in red, who doesn't look familiar at all. Yet.]

Are you new to the Plane?

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

N-No, it's not like that, it's just-!

[Oh god oh god he's in a prison because he didn't do his homework a;skljfsfj; is it even still on him? He blinks, pats the pockets of his pants and - SUCCESS! He slides a piece of paper out of his pocket... unfolds it a few times, then holds it up to show to Jade.]

See? I already did the first problem! [And... only the first.]

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[The new voice makes him raise his head a bit in surprise, but thankfully, he doesn't jump or anything. He does let go of the kiosk and turn to the new person, a little more friendly than the others since he's not claiming to know him right away.]

Yeah, I guess so... But I thought it was called the Machine?

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

That's one name for it. Another seems to be the Astral Plane. [He shrugs.] Those who come here seem to refer to it as simply 'the Plane'.

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

Astral Plane, huh... That's a good name for it.

[He takes another look around the Plane - definitely a good name.]

So how'd we get here? I didn't read that thing yet, so... [And he probably won't, considering how he's not even gesturing to it.]

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

The shop you came through transported you here, much like the rest of us. You can return home at any time, merely by thinking about it, and return to the Plane the same way. [He vanishes briefly, and then reappears in the same spot, just to demonstrate.]

Many people use this as a place to get away, as time doesn't pass while you're here.

[ofunity.livejournal.com]

[The disappearance and reappearance throws Lloyd off, and he widens his eyes and moves forward a few steps before the man reappears again. Huh. His ears are pointed... But that's all right. It just meant he's an elf, right? Like Genis and Raine. But... whoa. He actually vanished.]

... Really? So I just think of home and-

[POOF. There he goes.

Only to come back a few seconds later and stumble to his knees.]

Whoa!

[unto-death.livejournal.com]

[That reaction makes Botta smile a little.] You see? You can come back here from anywhere you choose, now that you've been here once.

57. Kratos Aurion doesn't do splits. The earth splits for him.

[cruxified]

[Kratos resists a sigh of exasperation as the awkward kid steps toward him. With no small amount of irritation:]

I'm not hard of hearing. What do you want?

B)

[pactum.livejournal.com]

[Emil's eyes widen.]

What do you mean, who--

[... Wait.]

I-I'm Emil.

You really don't remember? [I SORT OF TRIED TO KILL YOU A COUPLE TIMES.]