soulshard | ic inbox (locomodo)

[ She's good at skimming — when there's hundreds of books and only her, she's gotten used to the art of finding the most relevant information at a fraction of the time. Unsurprisingly, she does the same here, despite all the questions rattling around in her head. She has to get home, she has a war to fight, she has to—

Her fingers stutters, stops. She knows that face. There's a second of hesitation before the ( not-a-linkpearl ) device connects. A beat, a breath, then — ]

... It's you, isn't it?

[ Having seen the approach of the train, Ardbert had assumed that it would offer some kind of passage beyond, a ferry to the place where he could finally rest. He'd be able to see everyone again, Lamitt and Branden and —

The waking is sudden and disorienting, his ability to interact with things even more so. He's surrounded by people, and they appear to be able to see him. Mayhap all of them are on the same trip, off to the flow of the Lifestream.

It's all so much that he isn't even aware of the device until it begins to vibrate, and the odd sensation in his pocket has him scrabbling for the offending object. It's... he's not sure what it is, but after some fumbling he's able to make it stop.

Out of it comes Aria's voice. Ardbert immediately draws the device up near his mouth. ]

What do you mean? How did — where are you?

[ What is this place? He can gather the device is like a linkpearl, but how it got into his pocket and how Aria knew to contact him is all unclear. ]

Oh gods. [ Quietly, all out in a rush of breath. She thinks she feels her legs grow weak, and decides it's probably for the best that she's sitting. A glance around the rousing train car doesn't reveal him — yet. He's here, isn't he? But how? ]

Here. [ Real helpful, Aria. ] In a — in a train car. I was told to message someone in their directory, and, [ There's a beat as her voice goes from mildly distressed to an even, teasing tone, one she wears well. ] well, I couldn't possibly resist the urge to speak to a familiar face, could I?

Where are you? Are you— [ Real? Here? No-longer-gone to wherever her soul is? ]

[ That reaction is hint enough that none of this was expected, and Ardbert begins to question if his initial assumptions about this train were correct. They'd defeated Emet-Selch, releasing his hold on the First and beyond, but there's no telling with Ascians. Had there been another waiting in the wings?

It doesn't explain how he seems to be so solid, the ghostly glow around him dissipated. He's staring down at his hand even as Aria tries to explain. Told by who?

The familiar lilt to her voice is there, but not for long. They need to get to the bottom of this, and Ardbert begins to look all around the mass of people in the car. It would be simpler to spot her if she weren't so slight...

Not that it holds a candle to trying to locate Lamitt in a crowd. ]

I'm here as well. We can't be far. [ Unless they're in different cars. His gaze skims over a table topped with pastries and other food. ] Meet me by the table with all the food on it?

[ Her gaze snaps up to the tables. There are, in fact, more than a few tables with food on it, but that's beside the point. Her face softens a little more than she'd like it to, given the circumstance they've landed themselves in, the things they seem to have left behind ( and the things they gained, by coming here. What could it all mean ? ).

Still, she stands up. Looks around — the figure of Ardbert has never been flashy, but it is noticeable enough when it counts. It doesn't take her long before she's able to spot the giant axe poking above a bulk of the heads ( so many different people she's never seen before, some she barely could name— ), and begins to stroll over. ]

Well. [ Well. There's a small smile on her face when she stands in front of him, looking up to account for the height; not that she's never let that bother her. ] I think you may be a sight for sore eyes, darling.

[ Ardbert plants himself near one of the tables, imagining that Aria won't have too difficult of a time finding him. She's good at most things, but locating people or items is something that adventurers like them were asked to do often. After a while, you developed a sort of sixth sense about it. On top of that, he shouldn't be so hard to spot.

And then, there she is. As soon as Ardbert sees Aria, tension seeps out of him, most notable in the way that his shoulders loosen. Having just returned to her, their souls rejoining after being apart for longer than either of them could truly comprehend, it had been jarring to be without that — even if that had truly only felt like a few moments, to him.

The fact is, having her nearby is natural; comfortable. Regardless of the fact that they know so little, Aria's mere presence assures him that it will all sort itself out in the end. That reassurance is something she's provided to countless people, and he can only hope that he manages to return the favor at times.

Judging by that greeting, he does. It's so plainly Aria that he can't help but smile. ]

I could say the same to you. I boarded this train because it felt right somehow. I suppose I thought it would take me to... some final resting place, but that can't be right, can it? You're here, and you're still...

[ Alive.

Or does this mean she isn't, that something happened? He doesn't want to accept that possibility, and he silently entreats Aria with his eyes, hoping that he's wrong about this. ]

Alive? [ He trails off, and she picks up. An easy game of back and forth; the concept her soul being sundered should make her more uncomfortable than it actually should. And yet she sees him, and the part of her that was anxious seems to just ... melt away. The thought alone should alarm her, and yet her smile threatens grow wider when his appears.

The peace is nice. At least for the moment. The visceral, inexplicable feeling of rightness is something she's learned to take whenever she can, for the moments few and far in between. ]

I am, for the record. Which would only mean that you are, as well — unless I managed to draw my last breath while I was standing in the middle of Mor Dhona.

[ A possibility. She doesn't look nearly alarmed about this as she should ( probably because she doesn't believe it; and rarely is she wrong ). ] I suppose that means congratulations are in order, for better or for worse. [ Her hand twitches up for a second, before her whole body freezes and her brows furrow ever so slightly before all of that smooths away just as quickly as it appeared. ] A — third chance, now? Is it? [ And a wink, as the last of her relief shifts into nonchalance and she's grinning like she normally does, eyes bright and teasing as she turns to the table of food. ]

Tell me you haven't forgotten your table manners.

[ This is not something that Aria would lie about, Ardbert decides, and if she was lying he'd like to think he's learned how to tell by now. It's not as if he can read her like one of her scholarly texts, but there's also the fact that there's no reason for her to lie. Not to him.

They've both seen each other at their worst, at their deepest darkest moments. What is there to hide?

That said, there's still something she says that concerns him, his brows knitting as he draws up a first to rest near his chin. ] Mor Dhona? Last I can recall, we were in the Crystarium. [ He'd seen the train roll up, somehow hadn't questioned it, and the rest is history.

She congratulates him for a situation he still can't begin to understand, and he glances down at himself again, how every piece of him appears whole and solid rather than halfway to transparent. A third chance? Is that truly what this is?

When Aria indicates the food laid out on the table, Ardbert blinks and looks it all over, only now registering that it could be more to him than mere orientation. During their talks at the Pendants, Aria had often been settling in to have her supper, and there had always been that disconnect; that sense that she would have preferred if he could join her. Now doesn't exactly feel like the time for a meal, however... ]

Can we trust any of this, Aria? We don't know how we came to be here, how I'm like this... [ He spreads his arms and then gestures at himself, still in a state of shock. Simply put, it all feels a little too good to be true.

And certainly not like something he deserves. ]

I haven't been to the First in— [ Weeks, at this point. But it feels strange to admit that to him all of a sudden ( the number of nights, just before she'd succumb to sleep, where she would wonder if he could still see and hear and— ). There's a beat, as she seems to shake herself out of studying the food.

She moves on. ]

And I thought it was my job to be the skeptic. [ She raises an eyebrow at him. ] Realistically, one of two things has occurred — you're alive, or I'm dead. Unless I suddenly suffered from cardiac arrest, there was no reason for me to die. Therefore, you're alive. [ For a given definition. She shrugs. She wonders if he notices the way her weight shifts from one foot to the next, as if she's talking through it to convince herself of it too. ]

Based on that: they wouldn't want to bring you back alive, just to kill you again. Or get a whole reception prepared for us on top of the 40 others. [ Better. The tension and the what ifs seep out of her once again, now that she's convinced herself. Aria finally looks away to turn her attention back to the food, studying each dish carefully. ] Which means the food, at the very minimum, is not poisoned. So we may as well take advantage of it now, until they decide to change their minds. [ Eventually, she picks takes a strawberry from the fruit platter, and pops it into her mouth. Takes another, to silently offer it to Ardbert. ]

literally within 5 minutes of everyone waking up | VOICE

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@TaSTYB1TCh3000, sometime during Minecraftia car

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@TaSTYB1TCh3000, untraceable

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