diademlogs | ( closed ) catch all

[ Look. Just because he managed to get out here it doesn't always mean that he has a way back. She's trying to be helpful. Unlike Jason who exists to cause me pain specifically, I guess.

Or, in other words: she has no idea what a circus is. Jason we just did this with the party comment did you need to make her go through it again. Do you need to really think she's this stupid ( she is ). ]

... Should we wait for them...? [ She looks out into the horizon again; it's probably not the best idea to wait, but if they'll be back soon maybe it's worth waiting? ] Though it seems wiser to return when the weather is clearer.

[Causing problems on purpose is his whole thing, really. He wasn't even trying all that hard this time!

So much for rolling with the punches. His brows hike up toward his hairline when she takes him...incredibly seriously. He follows her eyeline toward the horizon, like he's wondering what she expects to see, out there. He wasn't exactly subtle about that sarcasm. So, a beat bemused—]

I'm sure they won't miss me.

[He'll figure it out. (Hypothetically. He has a ride, it's fine, don't worry your pretty blue head about him.) He gestures a little with the hand holding the grapple.]

Which way?

[Pick a side, any side. They're probably good to get back to street level from here.]

[ These aren't the kind of punches she knows how to roll with, she's doing her best. His reaction only makes this more confusing — why's he surprised she wants to wait for his companions, she'll never know — but there's something in his voice that's just dismissive enough that it feels improper to question it. She's not so rude to start being nosy immediately.

One last glance out on to the rooftops, then down at the bits of the storefronts she can see from this angle. Then another side. ]

Oh. I recognize the street over there. [ She thinks? It doesn't really matter, but it's still a landmark. The closer they can manage, the better it is. Probably.

Though... ] Ah, how do I— [ He sort of. Grabbed her the first time. Asking for it is... strange. ]

[He looks a little amused by her hesitation. Gestures expensively with his occupied hand.]

Don’t get shy now.

[He could just grab her again, but he’s trying to give her a little more say in the matter, here. She is going to have to get up close and personal at some point, though.]

It’d help if you held on somewhere. I'd need both my hands for a princess carry, and I’m not exactly wearing a harness.

[Batman can reel himself in on his belt for better rescuing-the-civilian levels of free hands. He’s kind of DIYing his gear these days. Gotta make do.]

I'm not—

[ Okay, she is. She's also very much a princess, and there's a part of her wonders how he figured it out ( it's really not that hard ). But being shy after all of that seems a little ridiculous, all of a sudden.

Apparently egging her on does work. She takes the few steps back towards his side — on the other side of hand holding the grappling — trying to remember how he carried her a few minutes ago. Another beat to work out the logistics in her head — or hesitate, take your pick — before she reaches around behind him to grip the opposite shoulder. Braces herself appropriately.

Anyway if he stands here for more than a couple of seconds the embarrassment really may eat her alive. ]

[Would she prefer bridal-carry? Probably not. It would be a bit soon to make the connection between her understated tiara and her very princessy ways, probably. But now that she protests, with some exaggerated amount of goodwill—]

Hold tight, princess.

[Give him an inch and all of a sudden he's taken a mile.

It's a shame they are, technically, still trying to outmaneuver some very spooky situation down the way they came, or he actually might wait her out just to be a pain in the ass. But he's not actually feeling that mean-spirited about it, and they've got places to be. She gets an arm around him, and he hooks his free arm around her waist and sets his anchor nearby so they can drop smoothly back down toward street level where she'd spotted something familiar. It's a less dramatic trip than the first time, but better if she can keep her bearings.]

[ The trip down is easier down than up. She goes with the pull easily, lands with an ease of someone who's made the jump more than a few times. Lets the inertia do a bulk of the work to have her step away from him, glancing back to check he's alright ( and also check if there's anyone that's managed to sneak up behind him somehow. Old habits, et cetera ). When that's clear, and she re-orients herself, she tilts her head towards the intersection down the way. ]

... This way. [ Then at the intersection, a right. Straight on the next block. Her car's a tiny little Beetle that's been parked on the side of an otherwise completely empty road.

There's a little stutter in her movements right after she unlocks the car, but she reaches to shrug the Falchion's sheathe from her body and have it rest across the back seat. Once she straightens out again— ] ... Are you certain you don't wish to wait? We'll at least be able to avoid the rain in here.

[Wow, retro. Even if there were any other cars out on the street, it wouldn’t really surprise him to see her going for that one. She’s got a bit of a theme going.

If he were to be honest with her (or himself, for that matter,) he could stand to take her up on it. At least for a little while, long enough for a breather. After being battered around by furniture and (ghost-filled—) floodwater, running full tilt and then swinging them up a few floors of building — The thought of whipping through the long empty streets on his bike in this weather is actually, little bit exhausting.

He exhales at length, swinging the opposite door to her little car to drop carelessly down into the passenger seat. His gear would have been fine at keeping out the lions share of the rain, but there wasn’t a lot it could do about being dropped in the drink, so he’s definitely dripping all over. You asked for this.]

Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to get into cars with strangers?

[usually it doesn’t mean your car. But y’know. Still tracks.]

[ She'll understand the miseries of getting soaked car seats from this. It'll be a valuable learning experience that she'll completely ignore the next time someone needs help. It's fine.

Besides, it's not like she has much of a solution for all the water she's bringing into the car; it'd be hypocritical for her to demand anything more from him. She suppresses a shiver once the car door shuts, the chill finally starting to catch up. No move to start the ignition or to turn on the heater, but she at least remembers to hit the overhead light so that they're not sitting in the dark.

There's a quiet pause as she considers his words. She frowns at the implications, but it's more out of confusion rather than concern. ] You don't strike me as someone with ill-intentions. [ Because her judgement in people is incredibly sound. ]

Edited (fucking comment titles) 2025-06-29 04:04 (UTC)

[She doesn't reach for the ignition, but he doesn't much expect it. Makes perfect sense. Some heat would be nice and all, would definitely help them dry out a bit, but far better to conserve the gas. Especially out here.

Her (unexpected, unearned) faith in him is heartwarming. It's the wrong thing to say though, apparently, because he sinks down into his seat a little and pulls his hood a little farther over his face, and frowns deliberately out the window at the rain as it kicks back up, flooding the gutters in small streams.]

You don't know that. [It's curt. Contrary.] Could be I'm just biding my time before I make off with your buggy.

[Maybe he will!!!!]

I don't. [ He could. And she'd be saddled with a debt but without a car, stranded in the rain with no way to get back to the city. There's no guarantee she'd even make it back in one peace, given what the diffusion zone did to her. She doesn't look all that concerned about it. ]

But if that's what you're interested in, I believe there were better opportunities when I was still ... disoriented. [ It's not like the car would have gone anywhere. He could have let her get swept up by the water. Left her on the ground when he zipped up to the roof. So on and so forth.

Lucina leans a little further back in her seat, turning her head just enough to glance at the edges of his hood. ] And again, you don't strike me someone who would.

[She just kind of gets a beat of obstinate silence, in return. His jaw shifting unhappily in the peripheral, like he’s biting down on an argument. (That maybe getting her away to somewhere alone and enclosed could be the point. That there are worse people and worse things than theft on the table. Theoretically.)

He’s capable of a lot of very bad things. He’s done plenty. He’s still planning on doing plenty more. His nerves grate a little at the idea she’s already gone and made some assumptions about the kind of person he is. (What, then, when she realizes she’s wrong about that?)

Not his problem.

He breathes out sharp through his nose and slumps further into his seat, listing toward the window and crossing his arms over himself. He tugs at his hood again. Changes the subject.]

I’m going to take a catnap while the weather works its way through.

[Or, some semblance of one. Hard to actually relax in the company of strangers, but kicking back for a breather takes a lot less out of him than smalltalk, and he did just narrowly escape a drowning not too long ago. Now that the adrenaline is fading out, the ache of bruises and battered joints is trying to set in. The rain makes for good enough white noise.]

I suggest you do the same, it’s a long drive back to Panorama.

( closed ) catch all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

i moved us along lmk if you want me to edit

How dare you

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject