Destiny Village ~ Parfait Way

[Ambyssin]

"It's not like I'm a fan of it, either." Nero shook his head. "But I would think a human would understand. If I didn't have all the energy I do... it'd still have to go somewhere. Better it be contained than run out of control." He gestured down the street with a foreleg. "I mean, if this Cibus is anything like the one I visited, this entire incident can basically be chalked up to powerful energies colliding because they weren't properly controlled."

 

[Dragonfree]

"That's not really how it works where I'm from, but sure. Better in the hands of somebody who's not using it to decide to blow up planets."

Dave let out a long breath and stood up. "This has been great. See you in the fight." Only... He stopped. "What do you mean, a human would understand?"

 

[Ambyssin]

"I heard about it from some humans I helped once." Nero glanced at one of the house roofs. "The law of conservation of energy... or something like that. You convert energy into different forms, but that energy isn't just conjured out of nothing and it doesn't get destroyed."

 

[Dragonfree]

"That's not really how... you know what, never mind." For all he knew, other universes did have physics that actually meant godlike powers running around free wreaking havoc unless somebody controlled them. What a dystopian fucking thought.

Dave shook his head. "Anyway, I'm off. Enjoy this Cibus."

 

[Ambyssin]

Nero tilted his head. He got the sense a "You too" wouldn't work in this context. "Have fun napping or something." He waved a foreleg, then trotted off in search of something new to do.

<><><>​

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria had to admit, Parfait Way wasn't very high on her list of places to revisit. Seeing the familiar homes made her want to drop by some of them, despite knowing she wouldn't be recognized. Thankfully, she hadn't come alone. A walk with Ben had led them there, and the upbeat arcanine was more than enough to distract her from such melancholic thoughts.

"—Though I gotta say, it'll be weird having not having our familiars there this time."

 

[Magyk]

Ben did his best to suppress a grimace.

"Pff, well, at least Mint's not here to go asking absolutely awkward questions as an icebreaker this ti--"

He cringed. "Nope, I thought I could finish that sentence without wanting to scream. I could not." Ben chuckled awkwardly and then sent Aria a lopsided grin. "Are you sure you don't want to fall asleep on me this time?"

 

[Namohysip]

"He-e-ey guys!" someone called from the sky. Swirling above them was a great fire lizard, his orange scales and cream underbelly eclipsing the sun for a brief moment as he descended. He tilted back, flicking his tail forward, and beat his wings a few times before folding them in.

He'd folded them a little too early and landed on his rump.

"Ow," he mumbled, then grinned nervously at the two of them. "Hey, sorry. Was in a rush. I didn't hold you guys up, did I?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria gestured at the comically-large basket next to her, neatly secured on a floating disc of aura. "Eh, not really. We just finished grabbing dessert. What held you up, though?"

 

[Magyk]

...Did Owen just mess up his landing?

He gawked at Aria, had...had she invited Owen? He couldn't remember. Was it a surprise?

It was a good surprise.

"Hey Owen!" he greeted. "I'm not sure if I asked this--how does it feel to have legs this time around? Must be a little bit of a relief, right?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Yeah, a real relief," Owen said. "I wasn't sure what to do with legs at first, but then I got used to it." He took a few mock-celebratory steps, then nodded to himself. "It was nice of Diyem to make sure the body was, uh, the right way this time."

He walked along with the duo, adding, "Oh, and I was held up from some, you know, training. Getting to know people more. It reminds me a lot of, well, the one we saved... Weird to think about."

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

"Training? After we've had our big fight?" Aria said with a raised brow, before shrugging. "Unless that's how you were getting to know people, I guess. Can't say it doesn't work."

 

[Magyk]

"But me and Owen didn't fight,"

Ah well, it wasn't important. Ben preferred talking over beating his friends up anyways. "Sad, I think I preferred the tentacles."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen blinked. "Yeah! Uh, I didn't. And, well, what's a little training hurt anyone, right? ...Aside from the hurt that comes from training, but, you know what I mean..." He shifted his weight, stumbling a little when he walked. Tittering, he added, "I think I overexerted myself a little, that's all. S-so, uh, about the picnic, what're we having? The usual?"

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Aria gave him an odd look for a moment, before nodding. "All our favorites, or what I could remember being our favorites. Just need to find someplace private enough, now."

 

[Magyk]

Something didn't feel right, though he couldn't figure out what.

"Hey Aria," he said, "You think we can go back to that place? Maybe we can actually go for a swim this time, I'm not gonna chicken out, I'll just get rid of my fire."

 

[Namohysip]

"Uh--yeah, and, uh, I can just swap to Grass, too," Owen added. "I don't think it'll get to me too much, even in the cold." He followed them as usual, looking left and right to admire the streets. "Looks like they keep things pretty clean here, too," he remarked.

 

[ExplosiveTurkey]

Of course Ben wanted to visit the one place she'd been trying to avoid. Aria briefly chewed her lip, before shrugging. "Just try not to get water everywhere. Your fur's pretty much a sponge."

With that out of the way, she turned to follow Owen's gaze. "And yeah, this whole district's got one hell of a maintenance budget... including where we used to live. I went there a while ago, and the houses look the same way ours did when we left them. Made it even weirder to think that we're not the ones living there now," Aria said with a hum, glancing at Ben. "Good times, though. Having just one roommate kept things nice and quiet. Can't imagine how it was for you, Owen, considering... damn, who were you rooming with, again? It's slipping my mind."

 

[Magyk]

The last thing he wanted was to remember the time he lived with Aria, and then a recovering Diyem joined them...and what had happened between them. They weren't fond memories for sure. At least it was good times after.

He caught Aria's glance and briefly tensed. Had she caught onto something, too? There wasn't any other reason she'd be asking such a question. "If my fur wasn't a sponge, Aria, I wouldn't have been able to soak up all your teachings."

She was blessed with a goofy grin.

 

[Namohysip]

"I was... rooming with... uh..." Owen laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Y'know, I don't think I remember either. I guess my memory's more sealed than I thought after all. Oh well. I'm used to it at this point." He nodded at Ben with an oddly serene smile. "It's nice to relax for once, though, compared to what it used to be like over here."