fellpool | +--+ The wall breaks again

+--+ The wall breaks again

[A catch-all fourth wall post for these three characters. A separate post will go up for Walter (and the rest of his house) later on. Please add who you want to respond in your subject line!

Albert is really not in the mood for this. There's a vaguely familiar feel to this type of chaos, and he barely conceals his displeasure as he looks upon the village from the stairs leading into the tea shop. By the time he's walking around the plaza checking on a few things (such as if new books are appearing in the library in the middle of all of this), he's calmed down, and he heads back to the house after feeding his giant owl behind the grocery store.

Leon is a little flabbergasted, but tries to see the good points in the situation. It looked like these wingless guys did not need to clothes. It also seemed like most of them knew someone in some way, going by the level of conversation that seemed to be happening. He'll look around the village and watch other people interact curiously, all the while wondering just what the Malnosso had pulled this time.

Akihiko spends a good portion of the time training or jogging -- the same as any normal day. He can also be found rummaging through the grocery store for bowls of instant foods like ramen or udon. ...This is entirely normal, too. Once in awhile, he might actually be curious enough of all the newcomers that he'll stand around and watch them around town.]

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[ libraries are wonderous great places to hide things of value. when sacking a city, always go for the libraries. rare books are less conspicuous to fence than nearly any other treasure.

so now -- captain robin whitby, both slayer and sailor, is leafing her way through a great and musty tome. when albert passes by her elbow, she turns with a winning smile.

in a libraryish whisper: ] Would you be such a dear and point me towards the rare books section, old chap?

[Suddenly being back in Luceti definitely took Nagisa by surprise, especially once she noticed that she was lacking wings. At first, she thought it was just that maybe everyone lost them (seeing as how loads of other people seemed to not have them), but then she saw plenty of other people with them...

And among those people is Leon, apparently! Whom she's more than delighted to see. Hence why after a moment of staring, she runs on up to him after spotting him.]

Leon!

[Hearing his voice called out from the throng of wingless people confuses and startles Leon, his ears flicking back and forth as if belatedly trying to figure out the exact direction it had come from. But then he sees that familiar face, and he gapes openly.]

Nagisa?

[She nods excitedly in response, happy to now know that at least Leon remembers who she is.]

Mm! It's been a while, hasn't it..?

[He is, understandably, conflicted. It's been so long since he's seen her, but there's something so unnatural about everything that's been going on...

But it's Nagisa. He worries.]

Y-- yeah. It has been. I'm glad to see you.

I'm happy to see you too, Leon! [Really happy.

She looks around briefly before continuing.] There are sure a lot more people here than I remember there being, though. How long was I gone...?

Several months. [His ears flatten sadly as he says as much; he feels like he's going bad news, though it really was a good thing that she hadn't had to deal with Luceti for awhile.]

I'm not sure what's going on. All of these newcomers don't have wings.

Mm... [That's so weird to think about.

She looks back at where her wings should be, before looking back at Leon.] I noticed. It's kind of weird... I thought they were something we're all supposed to have here?

[Peering around Leon a bit..] Do you still have yours?

[He self-consciously twitches his wings, frowning at Nagisa worriedly over her lack of wings.] I still have mine. Does this mean ... you're here with all these other people? The Malnosso didn't place you back inside the enclosure?

[He's just thinking aloud. Don't take it personally.]

[So he does... huh! How strange. She tilts her head a bit.]

Um... Maybe...? I hear that a lot of them just suddenly came today too, so that may be the case... What do you mean by them not placing me back here, though?

W-- well. I mean. [He's flustered just because he didn't mean to confuse Nagisa in some way.] I meant that, if you don't have wings, you must have arrived some other way. Not that you did something wrong or something.

[There's a boy over there, walking around with cat ears.

And there's a girl over here, just staring at him in awe and watching him. Maybe even following him if he starts to walk off too far.

Those ears. They're so cool... Well, this whole place in general is cool considering how half of the people here have wings apparently (why doesn't she have wings?!), but this kid has wings and cat ears...]

[It's like someone out there was making fun of him, bestowing upon him wings when he already had cat ears. A hilarious joke no one would get.

Leon scratches his cheek thoughtfully as he looks around, but ... he can't help but feel like he's being watched... Things like this had happened before, usually ending with him getting offended and huffing at someone for being rude.]

[And being watched he still is...! Except now, Rikka's beginning to kinda... circle around him. She's still keeping at least some distance (maybe around 15-20 feet), but she's definitely getting just a little closer now as she walks around Leon, examining him (or mostly his ears and wings, anyway) and trying to figure out exactly what he is.

Some sort of humanoid chimera, maybe...?!]

[Well, that's-- yeah, that's definitely rude now. That feeling of being watched grows stronger, and soon he is actively looking around for the source of that discomfort.

He looks suspiciously a peculiar girl he catches sight of, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes. He needs a moment to confirm that she is watching him.]

[And she definitely still is watching him, yep. Though now with him looking over in her direction, she can flat out ask...]

...Are you a chimera?

[He blinks at the direct question, tilting his head with wide eyes for just a few seconds. ...At least he's been asked this question before.]

Um, no? ...No, I'm definitely not. Why did you think that?

[Instead of answering in words, Rikka just raises her hands to her head to form cat ears with her fingers, and then points to her back with one of them in regards to Leon's wings.]

U-- usually people here show up with wings. [He eyes her own back and the lack of wings. Like that's all the explanation he needs.]

[ When he does get back to the house, he's going to find some unwanted company has already taken up residence in the kitchen. The sort of unwanted company who puts their boots up on the table and idly drinks all your wine, which is, quite literally, what Elenor Silverberg is up to. At least she has the decency to use a glass for the wine instead of just drinking from the bottle.

That said, she's probably halfway through this one already. Here's hoping he wasn't saving this particular vintage for anything special... ]

[...This is certainly an unwanted sight. If it was not enough that there was a stranger in his house, it's a stranger who has taken it upon herself to go through the wine he had stocked in plain sight. There is a faint clench of apprehension in his chest as he imagines the woman going through his room.

All the same, his expression is schooled into one of cold humorlessness as he approaches the kitchen.]

Enjoying that, are you? [His voice is dry.]

It could be better.

[ Is her reply, just as dry as the question. With an audience now, however, she at least takes it into her head to swing her shoes down off the table and sit properly. ]

I take it that this is your house.

[ Seeing as he doesn't seem very happy to find her here. ]

[He is definitely not pleased. Someone coming inside is bad enough -- but drinking his wine? Hn.]

That's right. [He reaches for the half-empty bottle, sighing at the label. Kanakan, In Solis 270. One of the more recent finds he had picked up from the bar.] I had not even tried this one yet.

[ She almost reaches to move the bottle away from him, but she stops. This isn't her home. That isn't Agnes. She settles again and leans back in the chair. ]

You aren't missing a whole lot. It's hardly the best you can get off of Kanakan. [ She would know. She's tried them all. ] I would suggest a few better wineries from there, but I get the distinct feeling we aren't anywhere near the islands anymore.

[As it was, he could not go by the dates on the bottles to really decide how good the resulting wine was when he drank it; there was no way to tell how long the wine had been aging before it appeared in the bar.

But that wasn't what he should be focusing on here.]

The Island Nations? [He looks at the woman. Though she was not familiar to him, someone from his world could be entertained for a little longer than a common intruder.]

No. Some other islands with one called Kanakan.

[ It's said with an amused look, at least, and not simply outright sarcasm. ]

Yes, those ones. That's where I last was.

[ As unspecific as that is. She'd rather not bring up El-Eal to a complete stranger, even if she did expectantly invade his home. ]

[The sarcasm is accepted, under the circumstances; it was always possible questions had not been asked about the environment and the world situation. ...Though he gets the feeling this woman was shrewd enough to have gleaned something from her surroundings.

For a moment, he wonders if he'll find his books and notes sifted through whenever he returns to his bedroom.]

I see. I am from the Toran Republic myself.

[ She did take a look, but having found the wine first, Elenor had opted to go back and get on with getting drunk first. There'd be time for reading later.

What she did know is she was an incredibly long way from home. Somewhere that couldn't make feasible sense, considering she should be very much dead, at that. She had also noted a few familiar trappings in there, enough that she had already known the owner of this house was, at least, from somewhere she might know.

Or so she had thought. Toran Republic didn't ring a bell and so when she frowns at him, eyes narrowing a hint, that's why.

Had she guessed wrong? ]

Never heard of it. I'm originally out of the Scarlet Moon Empire, myself.

[Even with how busy the village seems all of a sudden (it wasn't like this last time, was it?), Marie would recognize those ears anywhere! They're only the best ears she's ever scratched. Excitedly, she waves and calls out to her friend.]

Hey, Leon! Over here!

[Leon's eyes widen when he sees the girl calling over to him over the distance. There's a rush of confusion and surprise, plus a yearning over the fact that he could connect her to someone he had not seen in quite some time...]

Claude!

[Even before her friend calls back to her, she's already jogging over to join him. She smiles brightly, same as always.]

Hey there. Been taking care of yourself, I hope?

[He can't keep the smile from coming to his face, even if there is a slight weakness to it in that he knows she's not quite the Claude he knows.]

I-- I have. Precis and I are doing okay. [He makes a face, glancing around.] And then something like this happened.

Sounds like the same old Luceti, then. [She laughs a little to herself.] But I'm glad you guys are doing okay. I kind of figured you would be.

[He smiles at her laugh; even if it's higher than the voice he's used to, there's a particular lilt there that reminds him so strongly of his Claude.]

I'm... I'm glad to see you. I don't know what you remember of this place, but-- You left.

I'm glad to see you, too, Leon. [She knows she left, and it's kind of sad to think about her friends being here all by themselves. Still, she smiles.] I hope Precis hasn't caused you too much trouble since I left.

[The mention of Precis makes the smile a little stronger, and he scratches his neck thoughtfully.]

She's been missing you. You know, in that not-so-obvious-but-actually-totally-obvious way of hers. I bet she's already wishing you were back.

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+--+ The wall breaks again

albert.

guess who

who??

who knows

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for leon!

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sorry al

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idk what are my choices again

idk I am the most fail at fourth wall

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