[closed] Two Old Goats

[unionjackoff]

Who: unionjackoff & manolia
When: IC July 22 / OOC June 12
Where: the pleasure district
What: abused goats and memory exchanges
Rating/Warning: probably just minor offenses



[hm.... hm... okay.

England peeks around the corner, carrying a bag and holding it to his chest. what's inside the bag? more books for Merlin, about woman's bodies. how to please women. yeah, when England says he's going to do something, he's going to do it.

the thing was, is this is so freaking embarrassing. first he went to the library, but when they only offered books about reproduction, England knew he had to check more places. he finally found what he was looking for at an adult bookstore. but both times, he'd had to take these books up to counters, and have robots or aliens ring him up. and even though he's pretty sure the robots or aliens don't care, he's still... embarrassed!

now he has to make it out of the pleasure district without being seen. so he's hunkered against walls, darting in and out of alleys, avoiding the main streets. this is stupid. no one can see what is in the bag, because it's cloth, and yet he's still worried. but he should almost be to the edge of the district by now. then he can just hop a train back home. aaaa this is so nerve-racking!]

Comments

[unionjackoff]

The goats? [England's eyes widen a bit. he hasn't been paying too much attention to the network] You... You have one?

[manolia]

[Gently:] Surely you didn't think you were the only one?

[unionjackoff]

.............

[England looks down at his goat. his poor, mistreated animal. then back up to Chibi. yes, he thought he was the only one who had a weird ghostly goat following him around] Where... where did they come from?

[manolia]

I don't know. [None of them know, and it's terribly frustrating to see the little guy and not be able to do anything for him.]

[Chibi sighs and presses his fingers to his forehead. The pleasure district is still buzzing around them, as it always is.] I have my suspicions. They could be more ghosts, or a spirit animal of some sort. Either way, it seems they are spiritually linked to us... But why they have arrived now, I do not know.

[unionjackoff]

[weird. England nods slowly, looking down at his goat again. it stares back at him with sorrowful eyes, and he has to look away because he feels guilty for some reason]

So that vision I just had... It was your memory?

[manolia]

It was. [Perhaps it wasn't the best memory Chibi's ever known, but it is far from the worst. Kashuu saw him kill himself, after all.]

--If the dragon in it didn't tip you off, that is.

[unionjackoff]

[a small smile. England is quite the fan of dragons. it had been cool to see]

What were you working on?

[manolia]

An assistant, of sorts. Back home, we had a sort of fish-- [he cups his hands and breathes, and wakfu gathers in his palms and projects the saddest-looking fish ever] --We called them Oracle fish. [Yes, this is a DBZ reference on the part of the writers.] They were linked, and they could see wakfu's flow better than anyone, see the way things would begin and end.

Those fish and I, we are not so different - so naturally, I channeled one's spirit to create an AI, in a sense.

[unionjackoff]

[sure sounds like something Chibi would do. creating an AI with a fish's spirit in it. what a boyfriend he has]

I see. It was quite large.

[manolia]

Large? Hmm, I suppose so, compared to things here. Or even to the Eliacube, I guess. [The Oracle fish is pretty huge in general, though...!] Mostly, he would help me with things when I was in Mount Zinit - remembering to eat and sleep and give sermons, that sort of thing.

[Considering Chibi never let a single soul but Grougal into his temple, it was necessary. In a world teeming with life that's eager to bother a man, his sanctuary is the one place he can keep his secrets. Considering that Chibi appointed guardians to make sure nobody climbed Mount Zinit, and that he surrounded himself with puzzles... Privacy was important]

--Ah, are you busy, or would you like to walk back towards the apartments with me? [Chibi shifts, taking a step towards the open sidewalk--]

[And probably brushing England's poor goat in the process.]

[unionjackoff]

[England was just about to ask another question about the goats when a sudden nausea hits him. bleeeeh...

his memory starts off in darkness, but there's the sound of someone calling to him, as well as the feeling of being patted on the face.

Engwaaaaaand! Engwand!

England opens his eyes. above him is a small blond child holding a flower crown. England pushes himself up to a seated position. they are outside, and it must be summer. a gentle breeze is blowing through the tall grass, and there isn't a cloud in the sky.

I must have fallen asleep... I'm sorry, America.

the little boy just smiles and giggles before beckoning England to lean in close so that he can put the flower crown on his head. he has his own crown too.


See? Now we match!

We certainly do.

England reaches over and gently rubs America's head, making sure he doesn't disturb the crown. there's a sense of warmth radiating off of him, you can feel it deep in your bones. it's a happy time for him, perhaps one of his fondest memories.

Come on, we should go inside and get some lunch.

Yay! Wunch!

England reaches down to take America's hand, and the memory fades away.

what the hell]

[manolia]

[The sense of warmth lingers with Chibi even after the memory is gone, like he, too, has been warming in the sun; like he, too, knows that child. Maybe there's a bit of jealousy, too - is this child his? Well... Chibi raised some of his siblings, raised Yugo and Adamai like this, so he's no stranger to it.]

[Besides, it was such a gentle memory that any negative feelings can't remain for long.]

[And the name...] America, huh. [His voice is wistful, sure, but it's more inquisitive than that.] Your brother? ... Your son?

[unionjackoff]

[England leans against the wall, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. yuck, he feels gross, despite that being such a pleasant memory]

Ah... My little brother. [brother, kind of son? they were certainly a lot like siblings, but also like parent and child. but, then, country relationships are bizarre] He was. Actually here for a while. In Cerealia. [he lifts his head, swallowing heavily from the nausea]

[manolia]

[Ah, a little brother - so something like Yugo and Adamai were to Chibi. (Perhaps, someday, like Chibi will be to Yugo and Adamai.) The thought makes him miss them more, and he wonders if England, too, relived that memory; if England, too, is missing his little brother.]

[If he was in Cerealia, it must have been awful to see him leave.]

[Gently, Chibi rubs his thumb against where their hands are still linked.] It must have been awful when he left. [After a moment:] ... It is hard when they grow up, but it is amazing, too.

[unionjackoff]

[actually, a part of England had felt relieved when America left, and Russia, too. it meant that they wouldn't be around to get into trouble, or to cause trouble. that was... one of the first instances of them dying and being brought back to life, then, wasn't it?

he clears his throat, squeezing Chibi's hand before starting to walk towards the exit. he doesn't know if he wants to talk about this] It is, in a way. [though sometimes they grow up too fast!]

[manolia]

[Chibi tries a moment to think of what Yugo, so young (and so short!), might have grown to look like before the world ended. A bit taller, perhaps, standing better with the poise a king should have; hopefully not too worried about minor things, hopefully not too stressed, hopefully with the same sense of humor and tendency towards pranks he's always had.]

[Oh, Goddess, he misses him. He misses Grougal, too, so much it tears him apart sometimes.]

I... Think I am going to go to the church and pray a bit before I settle back home. [Home. Such a weird word for a place he knows is not his... But it has become his, too.] Would you like me to walk you home?

[Playfully:] Or shall we go shopping around here?

[unionjackoff]

[shopping? here! England grimaces a bit, but not in anger] I've finished my shopping for the day. But. I would not be opposed to walking home with you.

[manolia]

I was teasing, you know. [Geez!!]

Onward home, then. [Church can wait; there is something itself calming about England's fingers laced between his - such a small show of affection, and yet so large compared to what he had back home. He forgets, sometimes, that love is not a secret here. He and Mina had to be secret, and he knows why, but he never stopped hating that.]

[He'll pray for Mina when he gets into the church, that she is safely at rest in her Dofus after the world's end, that she does not resent him for finding love after his death. He'll pray for Yugo and Adamai, that they will shepherd the Eliatrope people as Chibi had wanted. He'll pray for Grougal, that they'll be together soon, and that if he ever meets England he won't bite the man's head off.]

[But for now, he'll walk England home, and talk about little things - and this once, maybe he'll take the long way around.]