estoria | [OPEN] did you miss me?

Who: Tenka aka "Dad Extraordinaire" (

sunshrouded) & ALL OF Y'ALL TBH
When: Sliiiiightly forward-dated to 2/15, so right after the Nexus Code event!
Where: assorted... Kumounji House & entertainment district mostly!
What: Guess who's back (back again), Tenka's back. Tell a friend. -- also he fulfill his dream of becoming a Sidequest Dispenser.
Rating/Warning: just your usual brand of tenka idiocy, maybe some tears, probably some punching

[a. closed to kumounji house residents ; farts back into existence]

[Tenka doesn't have a calendar in his room.

Why would he?

But what he does have, when he materializes in his futon, wearing the same robe that he went to bed with, is a vague feeling of dread. He went through a weird sequence of dreams, he thinks. Sitting through that powerpoint again and then -- after that there was a weird space where he could walk through entire buildings. Where he started to feel... intangible again. It was remniscent enough of the time that he lost his body that he felt chills.

Yet his preoccupation with himself was short. After all, Shirasu was there.

Shirasu was there and wasn't there all at once -- he was in that space, unresponsive even as Tenka yelled at him and tried to punch him. But there was no returning punch, no weary purple eyes, not even a motion of acknowledgment. He was well and truly there and.... not.

So Tenka is tired as he walks out into the living room then, settling himself at their low table and slumping over it, just as he would've three weeks ago.

His first word upon his return:]

Teeeeaaaaaaaa.

[ . . . . . well?]

[b. semi-open to adoptees & others ; emerges from the void for noogies]

[Most people just knock or ring a doorbell. Maybe knock three times in small bursts if they're feeling antsy. But here's Tenka, banging on the door instead, complete with yelling:]

Heeeeyyyyy!! Is anyone in there?! Hellooooo?

[At least it's a voice you probably haven't heard in a while.

Someone clued him in that he's been gone for 3 weeks. So he's got about 3 weeks of visits to make up for, he thinks.

(Punch him.)]

[c. OPEN ; tell me what you see ]

[If nothing else, you might've seen this guy's face around. Yet he appears to no longer be Missing and is instead sitting on a bench somewhere. He seems to be puzzling over something very, very deeply. Feel free to bug him if you know him when he's still in the middle of his work of art (which consists of nothing more than a few brush strokes).

Because otherwise he's going to sit up suddenly and thrust out the page to you. It's definitely the kanji for 'lake'. But here's time for messing with the language mechanism and/or an impromptu Rorschach test:]

What does this look like to you?

[What a quack.]

[d. OPEN ; quest master tenka, disaster in the making]

Hey, you!!

[Doesn't that sound like a promising start to a conversation....

Alas, escape is futile as Tenka completely messes up the rhythm of the closest person's day as he steps in front of them and offers them the sunniest grin. (Don't trust it.)]

You look like you've got some free time. Think you can help a guy out with something?

[Sidequest: start!]

[e. choose your own adventure, hit me with anything, i can take it! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[And then there's suddenly a crying girl.

Oh no.]

A-Athena-chan...?! [WHY ARE YOU CRYING. He's panicking a bit now and looking back and forth and WHAT DOES THIS EVEN LOOK LIKE, HE DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE HER CRY.] Hey now, hey, yeah!! I'm fine, don't cry. You don't need to be crying over me. Look at me, I'm fine...!

[ oh no, indeed. if simon blackquill were here and he saw this, he'd probably cut tenka's wrists or something. luckily, athena's quick to wipe away her tears when tenka says he's fine. and she smiles as she speaks in between sobs. ]

I can't believe it! You're back...!

It's just- [ a pause, and she inhales deeply before letting out a huge sigh of relief. ] It's just so nice to see you again! You don't know how many people were worried about you.

[ well, not that she doesn't know either. but she knows sousei was checking out freaking trash cans for him. ]

[Oh Athena..... Tenka is just frowning then still, worried. He doesn't even carry around a handkerchief or anything TOTALLY FAILING AS A GENTLEMAN. He can't even grab her a napkin or anything...... THE GUILT IS SETTLING IN STRONG]

Ah jeeze.... C'mon, of course I was gonna come back! I couldn't just leave everyone behind like that.....

Good, good!

[ she nods fervently, both her palms curling into fists. don't worry, though! it just looks like she's about to punch someone, but she truly won't. ]

Your friends— I'm glad that they'll be comforted now. There was one guy who was looking for you so diligently!

[ but anyway, tenka already probably knows that. ]

So, what did you want to ask?

[ ?!?!??! weren't you just crying a while ago, athena? how did you suddenly cheer up like that—better not ask. nobody knows how this human emotional rollercoaster truly works. ]

[That one guy..... Oh jeeze. Tenka looks mildly uncomfortable when he knows exactly who she's talking about. Sousei's a weirdo and Tenka hates him and loves him and it's weird, they don't talk about it.

But she seems to have recovered?! Which is.... better.... and he just shakes his head faintly.]

Well, I was thinking up starting up a bar of my own--

You know how you said before that you didn't like crowded places, Athena-chan?

[It's what first got him thinking about it.]

Oh!

[ it's been very noisy in her headspace lately, so she nods quickly. ]

Yeah... it gets a little bit too painful when there's so much noise, you know? I used to skip class a lot because my ears were really sensitive back then.

[Tenka tilts his head at that, almost curious--]

Do you have more sensitive hearing than most people, Athena-chan? Like a cat or something...? Or is that dogs....

[or a bat. listen, there is no good animal comparison]

I guess I haven't told you!

[ she grins, placing both her hands on her hips. ]

I can hear people's hearts. Pretty cool, huh?

Hear their.... hearts?

[Admittedly that just earns his confusion!]

How does that work?

Well... Um, I can just hear people's true emotions... that's- that's what I mean when I say I can hear their hearts.

[ a beat. ]

I can tell when what they're feeling is different from what they're saying, too.

[ . . . . . and he blinks before filing that away for memory.

(Tenka doesn't look it, but Tenka's a liar. Now what are the odds that he'd run into someone who can call out his lies just like that?)

But then he just grins, bright and genuine.]

Whoa..... That's really cool, Athena-chan! Did you learn that? Or were you always able to?

[ then perhaps tenka should check this out! :/a ]

I was born like this... I hated it at first, because I was so sensitive and everything was so loud.

Simon said that my ability was stronger when I was younger. But that doesn't mean that I'm weak now, either.

Ah..... [ Tenka hums then before nodding. ] So that's why you don't like crowds.....

Well.... I still think that's a pretty cool gift. Reading people's hearts -- it's a quick way to get to know them, isn't it?

[ ah, he's a people person ]

That's cheating, and I don't use it to cheat!

[ (she totally does.) ]

It's not cheating.

[And he tilts his head at that. He seems awfully sure about something that he doesn't know much about -- but he pauses and considers his words more thoughtfully.]

.... everyone in this world needs a friend, you know? And I'm not saying keep it from them -- opposite, really -- but if you can figure out what someone's feeling when they don't know how to verbalize their emotions, that's a pretty important bond.

[He nods, certain now. It's kinda like how he translates for Sousei and his emotional constipation.]

Yeah... [ heh, that makes her smile fondly. ] It's why I'm good at surprising people, too.

But what I find most important is that I can determine lies... thanks to my gift.

[ she says gift this time, which, wow. she hasn't said that in a while. she's never considered it a gift until very recently, after all. ]

[OPEN] did you miss me?

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