abyssdressing | ☆ let there be light

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characters: takehisplace

☆ let there be light

[Luke appears in a whirl of orange and yellow, almost like flames, and then they reveal none other but a signature redhead. He's dressed a little differently, his white coat modified to look more like the Wild Saber outfit. Most notably, there's a red gem in a gold crest sitting on his collarbone. The flames are actually a translucent pair of wings, which flicker out of existence when he realizes he's out of danger. He sheathes his sword and doesn't notice that his right hand is bleeding rather profusely; he has other things to worry about right now.]

Guy? Natalia? No one told me we were playing...

[He looks around and takes in the sight of an entirely new world.]

... hide and seek.

[ooc: Hello~♥ I'm Saffy and this is my first post here! I bring you a rather stupidly complicated AU where Luke and Asch are both Tethe'alla's Chosen (sort of), except Asch is deathly ill and Luke sneaks out in his place to regenerate the world. I don't suggest poking around his journal or some of these threads unless you don't mind spoilers for Tales of Symphonia, too. He comes from just after the third seal.]

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[Asch arrived in a whirl of red and black as well. He has no wings to hide, even though they should be his. Instead, he has to hide the pain in his chest that seems to increase as his feet hit the ground.

Instantly, he clutches his chest and grimaces - he can feel his heart frantically pounding. Dammit. Dammit, why did it have to act up at the worst of times? Usually he has medicine on hand that calms the erratic beating, but -

He pats his pockets, and he can't find them anywhere. Well, isn't this a fine situation he's found himself in.

Thankfully, after a few minutes of leaning against the wall and just breathing raggedly, the pain in his chest fades to a dull ache, and his heart beats at its usual weak pace. How pathetic, really...

Now, he'll explore and try to figure out where he is and how to get back to where he was. It's as he travels that he finds a familiar redhead... with a bleeding hand that he doesn't even seem to notice.

Asch hasn't seen him in months. He isn't sure how to greet him, after the way they parted, after seeing... this. He does make his way over, at least.]

I see you're slacking off on your duty, Chosen.

[It should've been his. Luke shouldn't have to be doing this. This was his journey.]

Come on, guys! This isn't funny!

[Luke thinks he might hear something familiar, but combined with the noises of this odd world, it's too painful to try and make it out. He's still puzzling over where he's ended up when Asch appears.

At first he's too shocked to say anything. Why would Asch be following him? He knows it's dangerous, and that's why...]

Asch! What are you doing here? [He's not angry at the remark so much as scared, and he edges a little closer in case his brother needs support.] You shouldn't be outside.

Shut up! I was inside until I was brought here!

[Mostly. Asch had been prepared for leaving, because he couldn't take waiting for news of the success of the world regeneration anymore. He couldn't accept that Asch staring at Luke with hate in his eyes would be the last time he'd ever see him. And he couldn't accept that he was the one who's sacrifice himself, the one who would've lived a long, healthy life otherwise. All he needed was a traveling kit, which had his medicine...

If only he grabbed it before he was brought here! It was infuriating. He hated feeling so weak, hated it ever since this illness of his began.

Still, Asch doesn't touch the topic. Instead, he scowls and moves closer to Luke until he can grab the hand that's bleeding so much. He even presses his thumb over it, to gauge where exactly Luke is right now.]

And you can't even take care of yourself.

[It's no wonder Luke had to travel with so many people.]

[It's only when Asch grabs his hand that Luke realizes he's bleeding. Profusely, too. There's an awkward moment when he realizes that it's true, he can't feel anything, followed by a brief panic. Should he pretend it hurts? Nevermind that the delay already looks suspicious. He tries to pull his arm out of Asch's grip so that he can nurse his own wound... Where did he get this? Was it one of the monsters?]

I-I can take care of myself just fine! It doesn't even hurt... [er, well--] much. [He tries to smile reassuringly, but he's never been that good at lying, especially to his twin.] Natalia can look at it later. So don't worry about me, okay?

[Asch just narrows his eyes at his brother. He's lying, he can tell. The press of his thumb was subtle, yet enough to make any human cringe or hiss in pain. Luke didn't do any of those things, only pull his hand away.

Luke should know that look Asch is giving him. The one that just screams that he knows he's lying and that he's an idiot for even trying.]

It doesn't hurt at all, does it? [It's said as more of a statement. This means Luke's... rather far ahead. More than halfway done. And here he is, still alive, still healthy. If it were Asch... he might be dead by now.

Asch's scowl deepens as he tears at his sleeve - he doesn't particularly care about the fact that it's of royal cloth - and takes Luke's hand again, then wraps the strip around the wound. The two of them have no healing powers, but Natalia is nowhere in sight. The blood flow needs to stop now.]

Idiot.

[He knows. That's the first thing that goes through Luke's mind when he hears those words. Followed by the very eloquent (and accurate): I'm so screwed. He knows that look and he doesn't even try to fight it. After all, Asch knows exactly what Luke is going through; he was supposed to go through it himself. Lying was a stupid idea.

He startles when he sees Asch rip off a portion of his sleeve, then ducks his head when he realizes that his brother is using his expensive clothes as a bandage.

It seems like Luke can't do anything right. But... if he can make this one thing work, if he can save at least one life by giving his own...]

... I'm sorry. I should be the one taking care of you, not the other way around.

[After he finishes his journey, he won't be able to do that anymore. He's sorry for that, too.

Was he less of a fuckup before he lost his memory? If he could remember something from back then, would he be able to take care of himself? Would he be more independent? Would he be... stronger and more mature, like Asch?

Luke isn't the type to cling to the past, but he can't sleep anymore, so he entertains those thoughts anyway. There's no point in dwelling on it right now, though.]

[Asch just gives Luke a look before he focuses on tying the cloth enough to slow the blood flow. It says one thing: "Don't say such stupid things", but it's so much deeper than that. Yes, to Asch, it was a stupid thing that Luke said, and it has been ever since they were little. Asch is the elder, he should always take care of Luke.

But there's something behind that, too. It's stupid for Luke to take care of him because...

Because he doesn't have any time. The doctors gave no clear date, but they had estimated that he wouldn't live to see his coming of age ceremony. There was no point in taking care of a dead man walking. Asch had plenty of time to think about things like that, too.

He would say something along those lines: "There's no point in taking care of me", but that would just get Luke upset and then it'd just be annoying. So, he keeps it to himself and wills those thoughts away.

Once those thoughts filter out of his head, he realizes that he's tied the cloth tightly, enough to hopefully slow the flow of blood before too long.]

There. Don't move your hand too much. [He shoots Luke another look. Seriously, don't.]

[He can't feel the warmth of his brother's hand anymore.

That thought pains him more than he cares to admit. He's not even sure he has the ability to cry. So he smiles, beautiful and terrible and soft and a little sad.

He lets out a sigh like a puff of air and looks around.]

I hate to say this, but... I have no idea where we are.

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