dualisnet | text | UN: blitzace

where are you? i can meet you anywhere, just somewhere private

There aren't many places that match that description, but there are a few. There's one in particular, where drinks are served.

[Please know Rick's bar, Tidus.]

pretty sure i know the place. i'll meet you there

[ Hopefully he knows the place -- and Tidus really really hopes so, so he doesn't have to send discreet guesses because nobody needs him cocking that up -- though it's vague enough to mean anywhere (obviously, the point). But if he gives Loki credit, and suspects the guy knows all about the drinking establishment where people willingly leave all sorts of information?

Then Rick's Bar it is, Tidus slipping in with a discomfort he's not quite yet gotten rid of whenever he comes by here, but he can ignore it to give a sweeping inspection of the heads in the room, travel the rows of the drab booths if he doesn't catch sight of the man right away.

But he could be early, and if it seemed that way, he'll take one of the booths closer to the door -- wondering if he should send a message about the owner having a sharp mouth or a ~~ruff~~ rough personality... ]

[Tidus chose correctly, and Loki had already been there. It was a good place to pick up information, and watch who might be headed to the back room. There were times when he concealed his presence as well, but this was not one of them. He didn't call out to Tidus immediately, but waited until the boy's eyes found him at one of the boothes near the door, waving him over with a hand.

Smiling, he speaks as though commenting on the weather or making some other banal comment in greeting, to spite the seriousness of his words.]

Order a drink. It's always best to keep up appearances.

[ There’s no describing Tidus’s relief when he finds Loki there. There’s another feeling too; glad that the guy does know about this place, probably knows a bunch of other stuff: about the city, and pretty much anything Tidus does.

Which could be assumed, but it’s nice to see confirmed. He’s about to settle when the suggestion comes, so he pauses, nods, and gets that out of the way; knows already what to order without mucking around. A root beer: low to no alcohol depending on the bar, but at least the bottle looks more suitable than ordering a coke.

But in that time too, he realises -- or remembers -- why they’re there, the talk he wanted to have. Tries not to wear his emotions too easily on his face, smiling despite the worry that leaves a crease on his brow anyway. ]

I like the view here, outside the bar. Reminds me of home… a little bit. If I pretend. [ If he wants to. ] We lived out on the sea, a giant city bigger than this one, away from everyone else. We never cared about the rest of the world.

[ Didn't ever think about it. He’s eyeing the table, his tone kept light. A pause before he adds, as if not serious: ] Pretty magical sounding, huh?

[ In truth he’s delaying, but it’s not just random words strung together while he tries to get comfortable. He’s not sure if to be ashamed, or if shame is what he’s feeling. It was a conversation he both wanted and didn’t want to have. ]

[He's pleased to see Tidus arrived so quickly. It meant he'd been in the neighborhood, and that he knew a safe place to come when things needed to be discussed. The cafe with all the cats would suffice as well, but was not nearly as secure.

Loki had already acquired a glass of wine, which suited the appearance he put force most of the time: a suit, smart tie. He glanced toward the dingy windows, mostly obscured by neon signs or banners, toward the streets beyond, eyebrow arched.]

I suppose that's fortunate. This place is nothing like my home.

[And nowhere would ever be again.] Though it sounds more akin to yours. [He looks back to Tidus, then. If the boy wanted to inquire more, he could.]

Rather magical, I suppose, though a city isolated from its brothers is no civilization to cherish. Asgard...was a land that occupied a massive planetoid, held suspended by the untold currents of Elder magic that flowed through the branches of Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree. It connects nine realms in all, most a part of and protected by the Throne of Asgard and her armies.

...I can’t imagine it. [ Loki’s home, he means, and he does try for a second. But something like laughter tinges his voice; half incredulous, half overwhelmed in a single sentence. Loki always knew how to say things he could barely understand. ] Any of it. It sounds… massive. Spira isn’t like that at all.

I shouldn’t have even used the word magical. Not when I’m talking to you.

[ He leans back where he sits, looking at Loki now, a small amused smile on his face despite his mood seconds ago. Despite the fact that Loki hadn’t technically done anything but just...described his home.

But it brushes away some of his nerves, or covers them, at least. Tidus looks at his hands on the table, the smile weakening when he looks back at Loki. ]

You think my home and Dualis sound the same?

[ Or it was Asgard and Zanarkand? Though, he'd have to fix that; clarify his meaning of magical. But he looks and sounds curious, if bordering on confused. ]

It encompasses nine entire worlds, Tidus. Of course it's massive.

[And, as when they first met, he raises a hand, from which an illusion sprouts, clouds and stars roughly shaped like a tree, and as he mentions the Nine Realms, glowing stars in the arrangement swell to indicate it is the world he's speaking of.]

Asgard rested at the top, near the crest of the Worlds Tree, below which are the twin world of Vanaheim and Alfheim. The world of Midgard, which the humans of my universe know as the Earth, rests in the middle, and surrounding the roots beneath it are the realms of Muspelsheim, Svartalfheim, Niflheim, Jotenheim, and Hel where dwell the souls of the fallen. [He allows the illusion to hang for a moment before flicking his wrist and the mists and stars converge into a stunning image, if small, of a land suspended in space.] No. I think your home and Asgard sound similar.

[He nods toward the image before dispersing the cast.]

Separate, but connected.

[ Tidus knows Loki has that ability, but he doesn’t expect the illusion -- and then it’s there, an easier visualisation. Captivating, the way the tiny lights blink, and it’s bizarre to imagine so many worlds close to one another. What relation did they have? What were their troubles? He wonders about it without even meaning to, as Loki lists the names, brings up the realm of Asgard.

But it’s his last remark that strings the similarity together for Tidus, at least visually.

Separated, but connected. A city nobody ever knew existed. A city that didn’t know the rest of the world.

It’s what spurs Tidus to speak. ]

We were a dream. [ He states it calmly, but regret flinches on his face once it’s out of his mouth, head dipping. A shame in admitting it, but too late to take anything back. So Tidus breathes quietly. Continues. ] A guy… I told you about summoners, right? There was a war years ago, and his city was losing it. So he used everyone left and turned them into something called the ‘fayth’, and they dreamed up the city, and kept it hidden from the rest of the world. There... We had families. We died like anyone else. We were born, we got sick; we had fun and did stupid stuff. There was nothing different about us and other people.

But the whole time, the fayth were… [ He sighs. ] They were alive, but they were dreaming. But they never slept. They never got to stop. They dreamed for us for a thousand years.

It wasn’t right.

A dream.

[He lapses into silence for a moment, eyes moving over the boy, senses reaching out to perceive that strange magic hanging around him like a mist, then he nodded, smiling. So that was it.]

You wonder how you exist apart from the Fayth, is that it?

[ A simple nod. ]

I had an idea-- [ He looks up, not to the ceiling but in indication to his head; lowering back onto Loki to assure it was intentional before returning to the table. ] --but I wasn't sure.

The big guy told me anything's possible.

The big guy?

[He laughs at that, shaking his head.]

You mean to say you spoke to the Head and expected a straight answer?

I had to know what he'd say, I didn't know about the chips at the time. What else was I gonna do?

[ There was more to it, but he feels frustrated, though not at the laugh. Remembering that whole meeting, the lies fed to him. ]

They took Yuna after the ball. It hadn't even been a month. [ And so easily it reignites his old anger, that memory. ]

I had nothing, Loki.

[Loki remembers well the lengths to which he'd gone to feel again after he'd lost everything.]

Fair enough.

[But he wasn't one to talk about such things.]

Dream or no, you are real, you know.

... I know.

[ Despite the small delay, the low tone -- he does. ]

I just... don't want to think about that happening again. Leaving like that. [ He shakes his head slowly. ] Not yet. I know it's not the worst this place can do to us, [ and he says so with a slight scoff, ] but... it kinda sticks with you.

[ It scares him more than the phantom of a clone coming after him. He stops looking at the table though, brow furrowing as he regards Loki. ]

Do you think you're... I mean, do you think everything about you's the way it should be? Did it bring you back the same?

[ He figures Loki isn't a clone or anything, but. ]

[He frowns at Tidus' explanation, nodding. He wasn't sure he completely understood what it was like to be a dream, but he knew what it meant to be wanted, needed, seen. Feelings were never easy for him to discuss, but the sympathy in his eyes speaks more than he can say.

He's glad for the topic shift.]

There doesn't seem to be anything missing, no, save endurance. My magic isn't as powerful here as it should be, and my spells don't last as long. I believe it's tied to the chip.

[ He gives a slight nod, going quiet for a moment. If that's really all... ]

Then that would mean... it really puts people back together, doesn't it? Their bodies, and their spirit. Doesn't that mean-- however it's doing it, if we got a hold of that tech, couldn't we do the same for the people gone now?

[ He's not been speaking up much through their discussion, but he speaks quieter particularly for that. What happened to the people that became clones? He knew what happened to their bodies, but... was that always the case? Was there... anything that could still be done for them? ]

If it's fully a technological aspect, yes, though I'd wager there's a bit of magic mixed in for fun, as well.

[It would afford a more accurate replication process as well.]

You mean to find Yuna, don't you?

[ He doesn't hide it, his nod firm. ]

I'm not going anywhere without her. I don't care what it takes.

[He watches Tidus for a moment before nodding and taking a sip of his drink.]

Well said. I'll help whatever way I can.

[ Loki's response elicits a smile out of him -- small, but genuine. Glad. He cups his hands in front of himself, his own drink mostly forgotten to the side. ]

Well... out of the two of us, I think you'd know better how to do any of this. [ He lets free one of his hands, to lift the fingers in gesture as he continues. ] You've helped me a lot. Whatever you think I can for anything happenin' here, I wanna know. I wanna help.

text | UN: blitzace

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