triverse | Kick Out, Break Out, The Place That I Flee To Is Always Inside Of My Heart

[Despite the initial excitement, the rest of the boat ride was fairly uneventful. Which is about what one could hope for when riding a boat to a new land. Stories were shared and good times were had, but it's once the boat docks that the excitement truly begins.

Kor's the first one off the boat, his excitement having him practically leaping over the edge of the boat into the port. He looks around with awe, standing around with an intense look of curiosity on his face. And making it all the more obvious that he's a tourist.]

This is it, right?! We're finally here!

[Uneventful, but really just watching the open water pass by with maybe the occasional sea creature being spotted under the water was pretty exciting! To the guy who's never sailed between continents anyway. Sue him he's had no life.

Rubia probably dropped a story or two about Caius being embarrassing, a loser, or an embarrassing loser which he thoroughly denied. Arria might also have talked about the church. Fun fun.

ANYHOO.

Caius disembarks with the rest of his party, still a bit in front of them but not running off leaps and bounds like Kor. He's trying to look cool, playing this all chill like, but he's bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly as they finally arrive in port.]

Of course this is it! We wouldn't have come all this way just for us to arrive at the wrong place.

[Rubia makes the fair point of how the heck would Caius even know anyway, prompting everyone to stop and look at Tilkis.

"Ah, well, this is one of Senshibia's main docks. We have other landing points too of course for travelers making the long journey over the ocean..." Arria gives him a tilt of her head. Now isn't the time to brag about his country. "But right, we're here on Senshibian soil at last."

Caius' face lights up as he looks at Kor with a big grin. They're here, across the whole wide big blue ocean in a whole other country!]

[This was starting to see exciting to Kor now. Not only is he in a brand new world with brand new friends, he's officially started off a brand new adventure with those friends in a brand new city! It's all brand new!]

Awesome! [If it wasn't already obvious to the people nearby that he was a tourist... Well, it sure is now.]

So... Now what? Why were we coming here again?

[He was so excited to come to this town and he doesn't even know why.]

Well, uh... ["Cai-us! You never even bothered to tell him why we were on a boat in the first place?"] It's not like I didn't bother! There was lots of other stuff to talk about, that's all!

[Tilkis rolls his eyes as Arria stifles a giggle at Caius and Rubia bickering as per norm.]

I came here to explore and see the other side of the world for myself! But on the way over we ran into Spots on the boat. So if there were Spots on board then there might still be Spots in Senshibia and all around here.

[He looks to Tilkis to make sure he's got all that right, purposely looking past Rubia who looks ready to give him grief for mentioning his wanderlust.

"Right. I'll be heading to the castle to check in there and make sure everything is okay, see if anyone has encountered any Spots. Arria, would you accompany me?"
"Of course, Tilkis. It'll be fun seeing where you grew up."
"Aah, when you put it like that it's a little embarrassing!"

Rubia has the biggest grin on her face as she listens to the two of them talk. Caius blinks... And then just turns to Kor.]

Guess we could go to the castle too, that might be-- [Rubia hurries over shoves her elbow into his side, leading to him wincing back with a yelp. "No, you can't go with them now! Go find something else to do so we don't disturb them!"] Fine, fine! We'll go look around the rest of the city, yeesh!

[Rude. But anyway. Up for some city exploring Kor? Since aPpArEnTlY they can't go to the castle for ReAsOnS.]

Sounds fine by me. [Kor smiles at Caius. Going to castles always involved serious talks in his experience. Even if these guys were Caius' friends, he had a feeling that whatever chat would end up happening there wouldn't involve cake and tea.]

Getting to explore new places with friends is the best of an adventure, after all.

[He was feeling excited all over again, seeing a bustling city on a completely different world alongside his new friend that seems to know him for some reason? It was the epitome of exciting!]

Let's go, Caius!

[To be fair if they did involve cake that would be a good reason to dodge by itself. Ew. Sweets.]

Right!

[With that he shoots Kor a grin before he goes running off, leaving Kor behind him. Rubia is yelling after him, something about leaving a lady behind, but he doesn't pick up on it as he's too busy making sure he doesn't collide with anyone as he runs through the docks and into the city proper.

She'll verbally murder him later for this transgression against her.

As he runs, Caius beckons for Kor to keep up with him.]

C'mon, we've got lots to see and I wanna see it all!

Huh? Wait--

[Kor looks at Caius who's running on ahead, and then to Rubia, who's looking none too pleased, glowering daggers at the two of them. Back to Caius, who's getting further ahead, and then to Rubia, who's getting angrier by the second.

...Sorry, Rubia.]

Wait up, Caius!

[He runs after him. He does not want to deal with Rubia anymore than Caius does.]

[By the time they're off the dock, it might be possible to hear a certain pink-haired priestess in-training screeching Caius' name.

If Caius hears it? He's choosing to ignore it. This time anyway.]

Phew! She's not going to let me forget about this later. I'll have to figure out a way to make it up to her, otherwise it'll be years before she lets me off the hook.

[Maybe he'll get an idea as they look around. There's all sorts going on in the city, there'll be something for sure.]

[As Kor chases after Caius, he can hear Rubia screeching the boy's name. How can he just ignore her like that, is his hearing really bad or something? Poor guy.]

Really, you think so? You two seem like really good friends to me, so I don't think she'd hold a grudge for long.

[If anything his hearing is slightly better than most. Which makes the screaming even worse.

At Kor's comment he just shoots him a dead look, as if there's no way he could be serious in saying that.]

Well... Yeah, we're good friends. But Rubia, she holds onto things for way too long. She brings things up that happened when we were kids like they happened yesterday! Embarrassing things!

[He can only take so much of Rubia telling him how much of a wuss he was as a child. Granted it's normally his fault for pushing her buttons in the first place but anyway.

As they walk along and the streets begin to grow busier, more businesses appearing the longer they head on, Caius spots a clothing store. Hmm. Maybe there are accessories or something in there Rubia would like? He gestures to the shop with a toss of his head.]

Anyway, let's take a look in here for a second. It won't take long. Then we can really take a look around this place.

[Holds onto things for way too long, huh... Man, she really is like Beryl...

Kor looks at where Caius was gesturing. A clothing store? Why a clothing store, they didn't need new clothes, their clothes were fine. Did they need disguises or something?

Well, Caius seems to think they need to go there, so he just nods to him.]

Uhhh... Okay. Sounds fine to me.

[Bam, they're in a clothing store. It's about what you'd expect, clothes on racks and outfits up on mannquins. There are small stands of accessories dotted around too, which is what Caius makes a beeline for once he spots one.]

Let's see, something for Rubia...

[Just shopping for accessories for his friend who happens to be a girl, it's fine.

Flicking through whats on display he ends up picking out a barrette with fake pink and yellow flowers covering the whole thing. Is it excessive, or is it Rubia's style? She likes flowers. She is dressed as a flower most of time. Can you overkill what has already been killed?

Looking back around him for Kor, he'll show his friend the barrette with a tilt of his head.]

Do you think Rubia would like this? It's got flowers on it, so you know. [Makes sense.]

[While Caius hunted for the perfect apology gift, Kor decided to look around. He wasn't really all that great at gift shopping, but... Maybe he could find a nice souvenir or two take back to Kohaku. Whenever he manages to get back, that is. And maybe find some other cool stuff to take back too. He and his friends did seem to like collecting accessories to wear.

When Caius comes to Kor with the thing he picked out, he'll find Kor in the middle of trying on an accessory himself.

A pair of blue aviator sunglasses. They almost seemed out of place with the rest of the shop's offerings but they caught Kor's attention for some reasons. He lifts up the glasses to take a look at Caius' offering.]

Hmm... Yeah, I guess? It looks like something a girl would like to me. [He didn't really understand the things girls seemed to like.]

[... Caius feels a little bad for just completely forgetting about the reason why he came in here, but seeing those sunglasses completely derails his train of thought.]

Uh, yeah. Good, cool. Uh...

[Does Kor remember suddenly?? Or is this just some fantastical coincidence. Whatever it is that's the cause, he ends up just shoving the barrette in with the other glasses Kor was looking through. After that he grabs a pair of glasses for himself and slips them on.]

Okay, and... What do you think of these?

[Orange aviators. He wants to smile, but if Kor doesn't remember then there's really nothing worth smiling over. It'd just be a bittersweet happenstance. Instead his heart beats hard in his chest as he watches Kor intently for his reaction from behind the tinted lenses.]

[Kor looks at Caius' new acquisition... and feels his heart skip a beat. Something about this just... feels so familiar to him, but he doesn't know why. None of this should be familiar to him.

...Is there really something Kor's forgetting here, like Caius seems to think? Kor almost looks troubled by this, by the weird feeling he's getting in his chest.

He shakes his head, trying to dismiss it. It's not like him to get caught up in thoughts like that. Instead, he just smiles for Caius.]

They look good! They kinda, err... match your hair?

... Thanks.

[He hadn't looked particularly hopeful before, knowing it wouldn't be worth getting too excited over. And yet somehow he looks let down all the same. Caius lets his shoulders fall, his chin and mouth briefly dipping down to be hidden behind his scarf.]

Damn it. Stupid glasses.

[It's childish to get so outwardly upset over this, especially when he tried to jog Kor's memory before only to get similar results. It's unfair to push his friend when, as he already knows, Kor just can't remember at the moment.

And yet.] We had sunglasses like these before. There was a third person with us. He wore green ones? [He's never been one for just giving up.]

[Kor was happy to see Caius find a matching pair of sunglasses, like some sort of symbol of their friendship. But when the boy seemed so downtrodden by Kor still being unable to recall these events Caius seems to remember, these fun thimes they shared together, and this third person they all shared them with... It makes Kor's Spiria ache. ]

I... [Stupid brain. Why can't you just remember these things Caius keeps talking about? He wouldn't make this stuff up.]

...I-I'm sorry, Caius. I can't remember any of this stuff. I'm not even sure if the me you're thinking of is... Well, me. But...

[There's a pause.]

...This friendship you remember having with me? I want to have that kind of friendship with you. [He smiles at Caius, wide and cheerfully, masking how bad he feels for his friend here.] I won't let some stupid memories get in the way of that. We'll just make new memories!

I don't want new memories Kor!

[Well, that's just not true. It's said in the heat of the moment, and Caius can tell he said the wrong thing the second he closes his mouth.

He shakes his head quickly.] I mean... I do, I wanna make all sorts of memories with you. I just really wish you could remember the other stuff as well. We did so, so much Kor!

[It's not good for him to get too over-emotional, that's the kind of thing that leads to him transforming. For his own sake he needs to calm down.]

I'm... Glad that I get to be your friend again. [But why does it have to be again when they could still be friends, through everything? It isn't fair. It just isn't fair and he doesn't understand! And this really isn't helping him calm down.

Caius takes his glasses off and shoves them back into the display, not caring how badly it rattles as he turns away and walks off to... Stare at some clothes or whatever. Anything to stop him from looking at Kor for a few seconds while he composes himself.]

[Caius says he's glad they're friends again, but... why does he look so upset?

As Caius storms off, Kor tries to reach out after him, but just ends recalling his hand instead. What's he supposed to do here? This feels like it's Kor's fault somehow, but it's not like he can just apologize for it. How can he apologize for something he didn't do?

He looks back over at the display and just... grabs the sunglasses Caius had discarded. Kor had to remember somehow, and right now, these glasses were his best shot at remembering whatever memories Caius is talking about. And whenever he does remember, he wants to be able to give these to Caius as a symbol of their reforged bond.]

[While Kor goes and takes those glasses, Caius completely forgets the main reason why he came in here in the first place and the accessory he picked out goes forgotten. He's far too busy staring at some suit or skirt or whatever he's in front of, he couldn't care less. All he's doing is looking straight ahead, fists balled up tight at his sides as he breathes deeply...

And tries not to tear up. That would only make Kor feel much, much worse if he caught Caius crying. Really he should be happy he has Kor here at all, what are the chances of him showing up in his world after all. But he's still upset. Still frustrated.

Ugh. He has no idea how he should be feeling about all this.

In the end he starts heading outside, motioning to Kor as he walks through the store that he's leaving. He'll wait outside the door if Kor needs a second to get anything, and in the mean time will be looking around for where to go next.

There are shops lining the street which seem to head all the way down to some sort of plaza. The city center maybe? There are also some pretty large... What are they, machines? One looks like a bunch of horses on a spinning platform. There's a giant wheel with carriages on in the distance too. Huh.]

[Kor too forgot about trying to find souvenirs for his friends back home, only concerned with buying those aviators. No... More like too concerned about Caius.

One quick purchase (with immense relief over them accepting gald, talk about convenient!), he comes out the door to meet up with Caius.]

So... Where to next?

[Bless currency working across words. Crazy how Gald is just the everyman's cash of choice.]

How about over there? [He points off to the plaza area.] It looks like there's some stuff going on. It could be fun.

[And it does look fun! Since its basically a small faire going on and all. Something which might not be as lavish or crazy as the festivals he's seen in Verens, but it's what his world has to offer and that makes it exciting by itself.

Also seeing kids running around having fun and people laughing is getting him excited already. His expression isn't the brightest thanks to what happened earlier, but Caius is clearly slowly bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation.]

Hmm?

[Kor looks where Caius is pointing to, off at the fairgrounds up ahead. There were rides and it looked like people were having fun... It kind of reminded him of Lion Park.

And that made it seem exciting. So while Caius may have been curbing his enthusiasm, Kor made no such effort, his eagerness to check it out made all too plain.]

Ah! Let's go check it out, Caius! C'mon!

[He's not really giving Caius a chance to consider here, because he's already running on in the direction of it.]

Hey, I pointed it out! I was gonna go first!

[Off he goes, hot on Kor's heels as they head towards the plaza area. Once there they can see more of what's on offer. More stalls, all sorts of foods, balloons being given out, a teacup ride, haunted hou--

Oh heck.

Caius purposefully decides not to give that last thing any further thought once he realises what it is. It's a small, derelict looking hut that stands out from the rest of the faire and the city itself and is probably infested with ghosts.]

Whoah, I didn't think there were places like this anywhere in my world. Kinda wish Tilkis would have mentioned this to me, this is cool! [He gives Kor a nudge.] What should we do first? If you don't pick, I'm saying the cup thing.

You mean the teacup ride? [That sure brings back memories for Kor. Competing with Hisui to make the cup go fast, Innes breaking the ride, Beryl trying to paint while on it... Riding it with Kohaku...

...Maybe he'll have to ask Kohaku to go with him to Lion Park again sometime. It might be nice with things being different for them now...]

Well, I was kinda hoping to check out that haunted house, but...

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