open post - schrodinger's aetherial construct/dead body/brain ghost/real ghost

[beaffrayed]

1. heckling
[ The voice that echoes in your ear may or may not be familiar to you. It may or may not sound much like your own. ]

Off on another ill-advised journey, are we?

2. surprise! (dubious brain ghost edition)
[ A moment of boredom, inattention, injury, restless sleep...and the spectre on the edge of your thoughts is there. They perch on the nearest piece of furniture for what's probably show; the way they rest against it, they could fall right through without a single disturbance. ]

You? Idle? That's a surprise. I would have thought you'd be busy, as usual.

3. surprise! (yes, YES, THE TIGER IS OUT edition)
[ Perhaps you're simply passing time. Perhaps you're on another adventure. You could be doing one of half a dozen other things.

But one thing you know for certain is that Fray definitely should not be looking over your shoulder, or lounging at the bar, or sitting and reading, or simply Doing Anything in your vicinity away from you, manifested - made more than manifest, their existence has weight. Solid and real.

Should not - could not. But here they are anyway, in all their dubious glory. ]

3a. surprise! variant (for people who do not have fray attached to their brain)
[ It's strange to be separate, after so long...subsumed isn't the right word. They have plenty of space. But the tie that binds their existence to the person who had once picked up a job stone from a corpse, listened to his drifting words, is looser than usual.

So Fray wanders, enjoying the novelty. The touch of the wind, the sun. Hard to feel, but not impossible, if they try.

It's not so bad to have a day like this, every once in a while. Maybe they can drop in on all those friends their gracious host has, wouldn't that be funny...

Death, manifestation, all that they've been through, it's not made them any less curious. If there's a vice they share with the Warrior of Light, it's being a busybody. So they can show up simply...anywhere, far more silent than someone in full armor with a claymore has any right to be. To watch? To intervene? Simply to snoop? Fray can do all of that, it sure is fun having a physical separate form! ]

4. idk anything else i'm not your mom/dad/parent

[ This is kinda set up to be wol/xiv centric but seriously you can throw whoever the fuck at them, i'll roll with it ]

Comments

[diviirtissement]

[You know, she shouldn't be surprised. Retirement from the free company, and passing the mantle on to another poor soul that's probably another piece of her (don't think about THAT too long) was never going to mean her own brain motel was going to go with it. Rookie mistake. Haven't made one of those in a while.

Frey lounging around on their tropical island sanctuary is a new one. Chalk that up to novelty. Rosmet just...stares, for a very long time, and sighs. Sure. This might as well happen.]

Now, the question is, are you going to be a problem for me going into Limsa, or are you going to be a problem for me right here?

[beaffrayed]

[ You were the one to make the choice. You did take up the jobstone of a dead man. It's the reason she's even here. ]

Who said I was going to be a problem? I'm not allowed to take a vacation? You look like you've been taking a good long one, yourself.

[ Like she hasn't been in Ros' head the entire time.

Fray lounges quite casually on a nearby bench, as if she belongs there. Her armor, still as pristine as the day Rosmet first saw it on a corpse, goes poorly with the everything else of the island sanctuary. ]

[diviirtissement]

[She's picked up LOTS of weird rocks, most of them don't come with passengers!]

We don't usually do this whole song and dance unless there's problems.

[Ros makes a circular motion between where she's standing and where Frey is sitting.]

And somehow I don't think twin girls counts as problems you come to my aid for.

[...Though...if Fray's around, maybe that can solve some logistical problems of getting babysitters out to the Cielades while Raha's off gallivanting about in the new world....wait, we can work with this.]

[beaffrayed]

[ YEAH WELL. THIS ONE DID. No takebacks, no refunds! Fray spreads her arms wide, a gesture of surrender. Her claymore is ever-present, of course, propped up against the table (another anomaly), but she hasn't touched it. ]

Come, Ros, have I ever lied to you as to my intent? As I recall, I tried to be honest with you - to no avail, I might add. It really is a vacation.

[ There's amusement in her tone, from a voice that's almost-but-not-quite the mirror of the person she's sitting across from. ]

Twins aren't within my usual problems to deal with. Though I wouldn't say no to helping you solve it.

[ See, she's being helpful. Like usual. When has she ever NOT been helpful. ]

[diviirtissement]

[Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically, Fray?]

Right now they're with their father and older brother, but I'll put a pin in that if you plan on sticking around.

[Rosmet pauses, and squints at the table. That's...odd.]

The concern today is groceries. Which means either the aethernet or a boat. Think you can behave yourself not to scare the poor people in Moraby this time?

[beaffrayed]

[ That was helping. It's not her fault you blocked her out, is it? (She's full of shit.) ]

Where else am I to go? I'm on a short leash, as you might recall. I'm no Myste, to steal aether and run off to parts unknown.

You're getting groceries for yourself, aren't you? Simple enough. It's not as if we're back then.

[ Back then, when we/you were sick to death of everything. Back then, when we/you'd gone from hero to traitor.

She gets up, picking up her claymore and sheathing it easily onto her back. Strange, too, is that when her feet hit the ground, there's the mark of disturbance, and a slight puff of dust. ]

Worry not. I'll behave myself. Unless someone tries to entice you into pointless busywork...then no promises. [ Another sharp glint of amusement, in eyes and voice. ]

[diviirtissement]

I have three children. Has it occured to you that "pointless busywork" might honestly be a reprieve?

[Not that she'd change a damn thing about the kids. Not a single hair on their heads. But parenthood is quite a different adventure from slaying gods, and if Rosmet's honest, maybe the eikons were easier...you can't punch colic in the face.]

...You're exceptionally solid today. I imagine you can go much further than you'd think, aether or not.

[Of course, she's slightly wary about it--the last time Frey was particularly solid on their own, there ended up being a brawl in Camp Dragonhead...]

[beaffrayed]

[ Fray pauses then, a strange look in her eyes. For a moment... ]

As I recall, it was more of a trial getting Rielle to accept that caring for her was necessary busywork.

[ ...for a moment, her voice is not a near-perfect mirror of the person whose emotion brought her forth. It is a different voice, though one that has also been heard before.

"...Is this it? Is this all that awaits?
No...No more. Enough..."

It's a brief flicker, there and gone. ]

But that's not exactly relevant to our conversation, is it? [ She shrugs. ]

Yes, but don't all the most interesting situations happen around you? [ Amusement again, with a rueful tinge to her voice. ] And again, I ask you...where else would I go?

2

[punchgirl]

[You know. When Caelin picked up that job stone, she hadn't really expected much else from it. Just the usual job stone one gets for what skills they pick up. This one seemed a little different, but not that weird. She's carried it with her for some time now, only really engaging with the dark sword a couple of times.

She still prefers her fists over a blade any day. But sometimes it's nice to have.

She hears the voice and startles for a second, then sighs. ]

I do take a breather sometimes.

[beaffrayed]

[ It fills Fray with a certain kind of impatience, is what it does. It's waiting, waiting, waiting, with no sign of fulfillment any time soon.

I'm beginning to question your commitment, Caelin...

Well, there wasn't much commitment to question if she'd never had it in the first place. She's only picked up the sword a scant few times, after all. Hardly a master of the abyss, is she? ]

Really now? I was under the impression you spent most of it punching, and doing little errands for everyone.

[ Fray is a shadowed presence just behind her, vivid enough to form the impression of someone living. What had been in that jobstone, really? ]

1.

[waywardsong]

[ahrun'ya's supplies in his room at the baldesion annex had grown considerably (mostly the odd knickknack here and there, some questionably magical items, and other weird things he has little to no use for because, like estinien, he cannot be trusted with his wallet sometimes), so he's having to pack light before the journey to tural. clothes and armor are strewn everywhere, and he's currently examining a half-built mammet that bears a striking resemblance to fourchenault leveilleur on his desk, deciding whether or not he wants to bring it with him. it could come in handy! maybe!

at the sound of the voice in his head, however, he lets out a long sigh]

... no one besides you is advising me against it. This may as well be a vacation, compared to my more recent journeys.

[the thirteenth is not really somewhere anyone would want to go sight-seeing]

[beaffrayed]

If none of your well-intentioned friends are advising you against it, mustn't I, the embodiment of your good sense and pragmatism, do otherwise? [ Possibly only Fray could make 'well intentioned' sound like something of a curse.

Fray is not here in the room, not made manifest even as a ghost of Ahrun'ya's imagination, but his voice is as it ever was; only slight changes - tone and timbre - to suggest that it's not a dour internal monologue. ] I warned you against those journeys too, I might add.

[ They've traveled long together...in a sense. Ahrun'ya has seen sights, been to places no mortal should ever tread. And ever since he picked up that jobstone, embraced the path of a Dark Knight all that time ago, Fray has been with him. ]

You must know it'll not be that simple a trip. [ If nothing else, the pattern is consistent. ]

[waywardsong]

[ahrun'ya chuckles and shakes his head at fray's commentary, and he places a hand over his chest to rest on his shoulder--as though he could extend a gesture of comfort to fray himself, despite lacking a physical body (besides ahrun'ya's, technically).]

Probably not, no. But I don't intend to go looking for trouble this time, alright? If it finds me, that's one thing. I'm content to just be a tourist, for the most part. You'd like that, wouldn't you?

[beaffrayed]

[ Fray can't be touched, technically, but his tone does soften somewhat at the gesture. ]

If it stays that way, I'll like it. [ He huffs. ] But knowing you and knowing your companions, you'll inevitably be pushed forward for something. You can't help yourself.

[ That's why he's here, after all. You just couldn't help yourself, could you? ]

[waywardsong]

[it's true, he can't help himself. he smiles anyway, albeit self-deprecatingly]

... it'll keep you on your toes, at least. I like it when you talk with me. Even if it's usually just to scold me. Hey, do you think I should bring my mammets on the trip?

[beaffrayed]

They're your toes as well. I'd fret more about them, if I were you. [ Which, technically, he's doing now!

That gets a sound, somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. ] Who else would scold you, if not me? Ah, who would dare reprimand the Warrior of Light? [ Fray has Opinions on Ahrun'ya's colleagues and friends, the Scions; most of them are not at all flattering. ]

What would you need those little things for? Emotional support? [ Fray will occasionally look over Ahrun'ya's shoulder for such things, but generally, he gives as much space as he is given, which is quite a lot. He can certainly look at those memories if he wishes, but most of the time he doesn't.]

[waywardsong]

Clearly you weren't paying attention after my fight with Zenos. I got reprimanded by every single one of them, nearly.

[to be fair, fray was probably screaming at him in ahrun'ya's head at the time, and thus too preoccupied to pay any attention to what the scions were saying as they healed him from the brink of death]

... I don't want to think of myself as being so far away from them that they can't tell me when I make a mistake. Even if there's malms between us...

[he shakes his head, and picks up the mammet, looking it over and then setting it back down]

They're fun to work on. But you're right, I don't need to bring them halfway across the world. And anyroad, I have you for emotional support.

[grins, teasing]

[beaffrayed]

[ A dismissive grunt. ] It took you being on the verge of death to do that.

[ How many times has Ahrun'ya gotten into trouble for their sakes? Far, far more. But he'll not press. He lost that duel, after all. It's not for him to control what Ahrun'ya does; that had been the agreement they'd come to.

But still. But still.

You need only ask. ]

...That's not for me to say, whether they are or not. [ Fray can only offer his own opinions on the subject of Ahrun'ya's friends, acerbic though they might be. It's an inherently biased perspective. ] But consistent heroism earns you such things...as we've both learned.

Hah! [ That earns a laugh, genuine at least. ] I am with you all the time. That qualifies me to be your support, does it?

[waywardsong]

What would you call it, if not support, hmm?

[ahrun'ya squeezes his shoulder, before gathering his clothes and deciding to just shove them all into his pack and sort out the details later]

You're always there when I need you. Whether I like it or not.

[beaffrayed]

Yes, well... [ In your darkest hour, in the blackest night...think of me...and I will be with you.

They hadn't exactly been his words, but they were true ones all the same. He was bound to the same soul, was part of it.

(When Ahrun'ya had been thrust out of his own body, shackled into another, they'd been together in that too.) ]

Not as if there's much else to be done, is there? I hate to think of how you'd be doing without me.

[ Honestly, what am I to do with you? ]

...Are you really going to just put those in as is? What if you need to pack something else at the last moment and it doesn't fit? You'd be doing twice the work.

[waywardsong]

[he sighs, and goes to fold his clothes properly. it's a small thing, but fray has a point, and letting him have this one when ahrun'ya's not changing his mind about leaving for tural is the least he can do]

You worry too much.

[understatement of the year. but at least ahrun'ya's pack is in better shape now]

There, satisfied? I've got room for souvenirs now.

[beaffrayed]

Surely, you expect it. [ He sounds very amused. ]

Good enough. Mayhap you'll find some more mammets to add to your collection, so you don't miss your old ones. [ For all Fray knows (about as much as Ahrun'ya does) there could be a wealth of them in Tural. ]

[waywardsong]

[now that he has the space for it, ahrun'ya will flop onto his bed to relax]

Oh, I'm sure I will. Alisaie says I have too many already. But...

[he rolls onto his side, as though fray was next to him and he could speak directly to his face]

I never got to have many things that were "mine", as a kid. Didn't have the space for it, traveling around as we did. So being able to collect things--even things that are utterly useless--feels like something special.

[ahrun'ya loves his large family of nomadic miqo'te, loves them all dearly--but there are some things he wished he had as a child, and personal belongings were very few among the clan]

... maybe that's part of why I picked up your job stone. Maybe I just wanted something that was... "mine", in some way, you know? 'Course, there was plenty else that came out of that...

[beaffrayed]

[ It's passing strange, how Ahrun'ya interacts with him sometimes. As if he's wholly separate, and not simply giving voice to concerns he's left buried (though he knows it's more complicated than that, how much he leans into it fluctuates somewhat from day to day).

But then, he wasn't always here, was he? He listens to that scrap of personal history, something that came long before him.

He snorts at that comment. Alisaie says- ]

She'd say that. [ He says nothing more, until there's space to reply. ]

Aye, plenty's a word for it. [ His chuckle is sardonic. Plenty of trouble, certainly. ] But we've come to an accord, haven't we. Regardless of what's come before, you've chosen to make me yours, or I've made you mine, or...However you want to think of it.

[ Hold the crystal close that we may enjoy these moments together. Or put it away and pretend I was never a part of it. That I was never really here.

Time and time again in these moments, it's clear what the Miqo'te has chosen.]

[waywardsong]

[ahrun'ya reaches into his inventory pocket where he keeps his job stones, and takes out the familiar dark knight crystal, and holds it in his hand]

Mine or yours, yours or mine... let's be both. Like a proper partnership.

[is he asking for something from fray in particular? it's hard to say. maybe he's just asking for confirmation of what they both know, that they're inextricably linked to one another and won't ever truly separate. he won't give himself over wholly to fray--and neither will he consume him, try to shove him down into the abyss like he once did.]

[beaffrayed]

[ That startles a hissing laugh out of him, though Ahrun'ya has a habit of making that happen regardless, when they do talk to each other. ]

Careful, now. [ It's hard not to remember those precarious early days, after all. That push and pull as both of them struggled above the abyss.

There's a long pause. ]

...I wouldn't say no to it. 'Partner' isn't so bad a title for what we are.

[waywardsong]

I'm being careful, I promise.

[he's just holding the stone in his hand, running his thumb over the ridges]

Partners, then. I like that.

heckle heckle heckle

[umbralshadow]

[Dadaba snorts a quiet laugh, not bothering shifting her gaze from reviewing her arcanima tome.] We were doomed the moment she mentioned going to the New World in G'rhyf's presence, and we both know it.

[The ship had only left Sharlayan a few hours ago; it hadn't taken long to get settled into her shared cabin with Krile, but the mistress of Baldesion wasn't there with her at the moment. She was up on deck with Eorzea's darling and Wuk Lamat to chatter about what awaited in Tural, leaving Dadaba with only the fairy Lily for company.]

[Physical company, at least. Dadaba smirks and scratches down a note on some scrap paper set to the side.] Another day, another head of state to be beholden to, right?

Re: heckle heckle heckle

[beaffrayed]

[ Fray is ever-present, though it's only some times - like now - that she chooses to make herself truly known. She heaves a sigh. ] Aye, you're right about that one. [ To the doom or the another day, another head of state thing? Both. ]

You're bad enough, and now I've to worry about him as well. Whatever shall I do with the pair of you?