[004]

[claim_my_place]

[Once upon a time there was an Asch.]

[No, no that's all wrong. You all know this story, anyway. The rise fall and re-fall of the grumpy redhead who then got dragged along from world to world, believing his whole planet - perhaps his whole timeline - to be utterly destroyed. Maybe, maybe not. It doesn't matter; that's not the point.]

[What matters is this: on an ordinary and lackluster day in the land of the misplaced Abyssians, this particular Asch happens across a ring. The ring itself he thought he had misplaced and hereafter is likely never to come across again. It's a large ring, gold, with a starburst shape engraved on its face, marked distinctly with a large "L" in the center. He doesn't know the story behind the ring, or even what this "L" represents. All he knows is the ring was given to him for a reason (he guesses) and that it may - perhaps - still work. But how?]

[And so he sits, studying the piece of jewelry held between his thumb and forefinger. It can't be complicated. It probably only takes something stupid and nonsensical to activate it. That'd be just like her.]

Comments

[fononfailure]

[ Asch: the rage slinky that never quits. Perhaps that's why it's impossible for Luke to let him be - it's just too damn tempting and always results in some form of entertainment. So while Asch sits and examines the ring, Luke is content to perch nearby watching him.

She can see it's a ring, but the real question is: what's so damn interesting about it? Is it a tiny Sorcerer's Ring? Tacky candy? Could it possibly be -GASP!- an engagement ring?! Inquiring drecks want to know. And the only way to find out for sure is to ask. ]

Who's the lucky girl, huh?

[claim_my_place]

Wh--!

[By now, Asch should have known to expect as much. There's no privacy in a city like this. So how long has some idiot been sitting there spying on him anyway? Is it amusing to him somehow?! Asch raises his head, frowning in irritation. ...No. This one seems familiar.]

...What are you even going on about?

[Rule of Asch: Life Sucks. Marriage is the furthest thing from his mind. As a result, it takes a moment for the meaning to sink in fully.]

[fononfailure]

[ There certainly won't be any semblance of it when you're sitting out in public! Though given that it's Luke, she very well might have just crawled in through a window anyways. No escape, Asch, no escaaape. Luke jabs a finger at the ring, smarmy grin plastered to her face. She does so love teasing Asch -any of them- and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. ]

Your jewelry there. Are you going to propose? Or- Could it be! Did someone beat you to it? Say yes, Asch! I know you'll make a great wife!

[ Today's death wish is especially strong. Must be all that sunshine and fresh air getting to her head. ]

Yeah, let's be politically correct, even if Claimy isn't.

[claim_my_place]

[The hand gesture almost causes Asch to drop the stupid thing, but he manages to tighten his grip on it before the small gold artifact can go somersaulting anywhere. Next thing, he wraps his fist around the ring and slams it down against the table. Asch himself leaps to his feet.]

[He's red in the face and his expression has contorted into something dangerous and all but promising pain. But make no mistake - that's rage, not embarrassment! Mostly.]

Shut up, you stupid replica! No one said anything about getting married!!

[If Luke opens her mouth again, Asch cannot be held liable for the damages. He was provoked.]

They're Fabres; they can be excused from political correctness on occasion.

[fononfailure]

[ These days Luke isn't much intimidated by any Asch (save her own when he turns angry) and all she does when the other redhead gets up is snatch his chair to sit in, quirking an eyebrow. For it not being marriage related, he sure is defensive. Me thinks the lady doth protest too much. ...though to be honest, Asch is always that way. ]

Well, you were staring at that thing hard enough to make anyone think you were going into some kind of life-long commitment. If it's not a wedding ring, then what is it? Don't tell me you shrank the Sorcerer's Ring.

[ Despite the teasing, she is genuinely curious about why Asch would trouble himself over some trinket. That's not like him. ]

Fair enough.

[claim_my_place]

[Asch is getting used to intimidation tactics like these not working, but it doesn't mean he likes it. The next few seconds Asch spends glaring daggers at the seated replica before finally squinting his eyes shut and ticking off reasons why maybe he didn't want to clobber the other redhead anyway. ...As if.]

[He doesn't much like listening to someone recount what he was doing, either, but it's enough for him to open his eyes and pick up the ring.] ...Hardly. And since when is what I choose to look at any of your business?

It's not that type of ring.

[fononfailure]

[ There are a number of reasons Luke could give for why it's her business, such as him being still being Asch and therefore she can't help caring about the important things in his life, or that if there was a problem she'd be happy to lend a hand. But the truth is... she's bored. Loneliness factors into it too, though it's mostly boredom. Luke gives a slight shrug and leans on the table. ]

Oh. Here I thought maybe you and Natalia were finally going to get together officially. What kind of ring is it then? I didn't know there were different ones.

[claim_my_place]

[Asch glances aside. Just the mention of her name leaves a sour feeling in his stomach. No, he can't think about it. There are so many other matters to consider, if he lets himself get distracted or give in, Natalia no-- all of the others will have no place to go. That's all that matters, really. He already knows he'll never be able to have Natalia.]

[Seeing as Luke isn't going to offer up any reasonable answer, Asch responds with a half-hearted snort before fixing an eye on her.]

This isn't an ordinary ring. It has...uses. [Nice and vague, Asch.] The person it belonged to didn't exactly bother with detailed explanations, and no one else seemed to know exactly what it does either.

[fononfailure]

[ Welp, that answers any questions she might have had. Probably not the most tactful way to go about finding out, but it's not as though Asch is ever forthcoming with information. ...as he so clearly demonstrates with THAT answer. Luke gives a flat look, hand waving dismissively. A genius you are not, Asch. ]

Then how do you know it does anything at all and you're not just being tricked into looking like an idiot? [ Leave the jab alone. Leave the jab alone. She really should leave the jab alone-- ] More of one.

[ Stupid. The words have hardly left Luke's mouth when she cringes and scoots to the edge of her seat, ready to bolt should the need arise. ]

[claim_my_place]

[Asch visibly twitches. In his opinion, he just did Luke a favor by answering at all. He didn't have to. Infuriating...!]

[Pocketing the ring, he turns without preamble. There are plenty of other places he can go to continue his scrutiny of the item. Places (hopefully) without meddling replicas. Either way, standing around taking jab after jab is not something he's going to tolerate. And as tempting as the thought is, he suspects at least one person would probably hunt him down if he murdered Luke right here.]

I'm leaving.

[fononfailure]

[ Yeah, she knew that one pushed it too far. Maybe she's been hanging around Jade too much or gotten too used to treating all incarnations of Asch the same, but that was definitely not one of her better moves. She honestly wouldn't doubt there's a kind of subconscious need to sabotage any attempt at talking with Asch, given her current track record. Or so those self-help books say. They don't make much sense to her. ]

[ The flinch those two words inflict cause Luke to hesitate a moment before she tromps after Asch at a safe distance. If he's is willing tolerate the company that long, she'll wait a few minutes in hopes of him calming down somewhat. ]

...I don't suppose an apology would help, huh.

[claim_my_place]

[Asch doesn't even turn back to look - just keeps marching walking on, duckling or no duckling. Someone out there lied when they said ignoring people makes them give up and go away quickly. Not quickly enough. And Lorelei knows he doesn't have the patience to ask her to go away in anything resembling a civil manner.]

[One minute, two minutes... And no, Luke. Apologies are a waste of breath. Three minutes...he can still hear her. Bah.]

You're the one from the library.

[fononfailure]

[ Ah, so this would be the Asch interested in different worlds and multiples. That explains a lot. He might have been more tolerant of her teasing before, but it sounded as though he'd also been through all sorts of crap she couldn't begin to dream of. Though she may not know how to express it without sounding ridiculous, Luke is just grateful he hasn't decided to kick her face in right here and now. Which is the main reason her pace quickens in order for her to come up alongside him; if he hadn't lost his temper yet, it didn't seem likely that would change without provocation. ]

That's me. Is that ring related to what you were looking for in those books?

[claim_my_place]

[Asch scowls briefly to himself, but otherwise avoids doing much in the way of remarking on the change in walking alignment. Though now that he's opened his mouth, there isn't much reason for him to be "leaving", now is there? Still, it'd look stupid to have walked such a short distance and then sit down again, so he'll keep moving as if there's someplace better he ought to be in. And even if there isn't, maybe the exercise will help him think.]

Not really. [Understanding the ring is more a case of taking inventory of what he has and what's available to him to use. Kind of futile without a means of transportation or another reliable way out, but at least this way he can trick himself into believing he's achieved something.]

The woman it belonged to originally could invade and manipulate other people's dreams.

[fononfailure]

[ Folding both hands behind her head, Luke takes another glance at the ring and frowns. Other than providing entertainment or embarrassing someone, she can't see what the point would be to messing with anybody's dream. Sure she could ask Asch about it, but if he deems it worth mulling over then it has to have some significance that's probably obvious to anyone except her. Right? ]

That sounds... handy. [ Even if she sounds doubtful. ] What all do you know about it? Maybe it's like the Sorcerer's Ring and needs a verse to work. You could look through the notes I've got at home, if you want.

[ That's the only real way she can think of making up for being, well, an bit of an ass. Like hell she'll admit it though. ]

[claim_my_place]

[If Luke sounds unconvinced, Asch doesn't seem to take much offense. He's not sure what the point was, either. Why him? He gets that Nura was showing him things, but they weren't real. Dreams have no hold over the here and now, in the living, breathing real world. And just because he dreams things, it doesn't make their meaning true.]

I'm not going to your house. [More matter-of-fact than angry, although he really has no desire to go there either.] Just because they're both rings doesn't mean this works in the same way the Sorcerer's Ring does. It's a foreign artifact. [He doesn't want to say "alien".]

If I knew about it, I'd have gotten it to work ages ago. I only know some of the things that woman was able to do. The ring might be related to one of her abilities. [Or not. It might just be an ordinary ring...]

[fononfailure]

Hmph. Like you've got anything better to do, but suit yourself. [ She's only slightly put out about being turned down. Tolerable company is getting pretty hard to come by and she could stand having a conversation that isn't a series of "mieu"s or otherwise unintelligible babble. Even bickering with Asch would be a step up. ]

Then start from what you know about her! Not being from Auldrant doesn't mean it's completely different. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that most worlds have more in common than they don't. [ Lack of firsthand experience means she can't give specific details, though she wouldn't be surprised if someone else was familiar with whatever land Asch's ring comes from. ] Sometimes I think you make things difficult on purpose.

[claim_my_place]

[Asch shoots Luke an exasperated look. He's heard this argument more times than he cares to count.] Listen, replica. Just because I turned down your invitation doesn't mean I'm doing it out of spite. [So don't go assuming he's got nothing better to do...dammit!]

[Asch turns his attention away from Luke and considers the ring again.] And all that depends on what worlds you're comparing. It's not a rule, it's just an automatic response.

[What else could that woman do? Tell annoying riddles, lift someone heavier than she was, fly--]

[The redhead stops where he is, squinting down at the ring. Maybe it's how she could fly? It's not like she had wings or anything else. He nudges at its face with one finger, managing to rotate the "L" engraving slightly. The last comment goes unheard.] Hmn...