melodiesoflife | Event || Revelations

Well, might as well head with the rest of the crowd. Looked like they were all in this together after all. He'd followed along silently for the time being, letting Reno do the talking.

But after getting into the store, he brightened when he saw a familiar rush of long, curly hair. "Maraich!" He'd not seen him in so long! "What are you doing here?"

On passing by Johnny (if his memory serves him right?), he gave a glance towards the currently-displayed booty shorts. "And whether you like breathing." Not a fan of tight things (mostly around the neck, but hey.)

"So a little like culottes." She nodded to herself, and then snorted at Johnny. "Are you saying you don't have nice legs? I don't believe that."

She tilted her head towards Kyo, eyebrows rising. "Too tight for your tastes?"

Reno was not about to comment on Johnny's legs. Definitely not here, not now. It was awkward enough just existing in this space with both Johnny and Kyo there, and having no time to explain anything to his satisfaction.

At least everyone seemed to be getting along well enough with Sheena and Maraich. Reno smiled, knowing exactly what everyone -- or at least Johnny -- was thinking. "Yes, feel free t' go shopping while you're here." At least some of their gil will have been magically transformed into Atian currency.

"I left some stuff to Ishida an' I need to see if he still has it... or re-purposed it," he explained to Maraich. "I'll just go see if he's in the back."

Turning to Kyo, he added, "Can you help the others look, on the off-chance he's got Little Bastard's sweaters an' stuff out? I mean, I doubt it, an' there's no way there's more cactuars around here, but... well, you know what they look like." He smiled apologetically. He wasn't trying to avoid Kyo, exactly -- things were just sort of working out that way.

"Clothes shopping. What else?"

He answered simply, but smiled at Kyo. He was an old, familiar face that he liked quite a bit, even if he teased. "It's like a parade is going on through here. I'm almost afraid to ask, but what did Atia do this time?"

He walked towards Kyo as Kyo walked towards him, but he smacked Cloud on the butt on the way over. Looked like he was the resident butt of jokes, might as well get in on the action.

Cloud balked at the mention of "booty shorts". At least he wasn't being put in a dress this time, but it somehow didn't feel any better with how the man had mentioned it.

"No...I...uh...that's not what I'm looking for." He quickly went to find a different rack to look at as Maraich's attention was diverted by the Miqo'te. Or at least he tried until he found himself stopped by Johnny. Stuck at the middle of attention the red welled up in his cheeks.

"I....I think I'll pass on the booty shor-AHHH!" The shriek he gave as that hand swatted his rear would likely be a fond memory for all present for a long time to come.

On the heels of Cloud's squawk came the distinct sound of someone pointedly clearing his throat. Icy blue eyes surveyed the motley sextet, the proprietor the picture of composure and poise, not a thread out of place.

My, they were quite busy today. Familiar faces among them, but a couple newcomers as well. Still, his responsibilities were a higher priority than indulging his curiosity.

"Welcome to Enchanted Clothing. May I be of assistance?"

He quite hoped that Maraich's playful swat wasn't a portent of Atia's latest meddling, though considering how unusual it was for this many people to have gathered at Enchanted Clothing at once, he couldn't discount the possibility, either.

Johnny shrugged at K'Pandolu. "I dunno, my legs are... legs. But I know I ain't gonna squeeze myself into those things no matter how much ya pay me."

When Ishida arrived on scene, Johnny got the idea that he must be the guy in charge. "Oh, hey. You work here too?" He nodded a head at Reno. "He's looking for, like, sweaters or somethin'. I'm lookin' for jeans, but I guess I'm just window shopping since I didn't exactly bring my Amex along."

She snapped her fingers, with a disappointed face. "That's too bad. What about the ordinary kind, then?"

She tilted her head towards Ishida, smiling, tail flicking up slightly. "We can at least try a few things on, can't we?"

"Uryuu!" Reno beamed, seeing the other man finally emerge. He was probably addressing him more informally than Ishida might like, but Reno wasn't much one for titles unless someone really earned -- or, rather, demanded -- it. Besides, even though they might not be best friends or anything, Reno ran into Ishida enough while visiting Sheena. He liked him. Ishida was reliable.

"I was hoping -- any chance you still have all those li'l sweaters and cocoons an' shit that I asked you t' make for LB?" Reno squinted, hoping against hopes. It had been two months... He wasn't sure if Ishida would have kept them intact, or if he even could reuse the fabric if there were damage or potentially needles in it.

Cloud's head was swimming with all these newcomers wandering in. Somehow stepping into another world was easy, or at least simple after everything that was happening to them. But suddenly being surrounded by unfamiliar faces and critical eyes was making him feel even more on edge. The antics in the shop weren't helping but it wasn't the wrost of it.

Biting his lip, he wiggled around and away from the others, looping back around to Reno's side. "Reno, these are all friends of yours?" It was even weirder, considering that Cloud knew for a fact they weren't from Gaia, and yet Reno's experience had reached so far. His eyes had a second question carried in them: 'Is it okay for us to be here?'

Poor Cloud. With his wide eyes and baby face, even at eighteen, the poor kid was an obvious target for teasing.

"C'mere, stay close t' me." Reno gestured but didn't pull Cloud in, figuring the blonde had already had enough of being touched. "Maraich's just bein' playful, he's pretty harmless."

Yup. He.

Reno smiled, thinking about it -- a real smile. All the negative things about Atia aside, he did miss some of the people sometimes. "Yeah. It's all good -- they're my friends. They're good people."

Even if they knew the other Cloud, the older Cloud, they hadn't said anything. That was the thing about places like this, where worlds collided. People expected strange time things, people expected missing or different memories, different universes. Even if people knew "Cloud," they didn't know this Cloud -- and they were very aware of that. They treated him like anyone else. Even Maraich with his spanking.

It did prickle a little, having his given name used so lightly instead of his surname, without so much as an honorific, but Ishida had long ago learned to be less sensitive; usually he'd explain what customs he was used to once, but he wouldn't continue insisting that others use his surname or honorifics. Even people from his own world had different customs, and people here came from a plethora of realities far more diverse than the nations of any one world.

His eyes glanced briefly to Reno's feline companion, offering her a small, quick nod. "Yes, of course, you're more than welcome to. The changing rooms are in the back."

His attention returned to Reno next. "The sweaters? I still have them intact, yes." True, Ishida could have repurposed the fabric, but there was really no need to – it was hardly as if fabric that cactuar spines were unable to pierce was in high demand, particularly with the only cactuar on the island having departed when Reno did. "However, they aren't here; I've kept them at home.

"Your pet came back with you, then?" After all, what other reason could Reno have for needing the sweaters?

Edited 2016-09-12 06:49 (UTC)

Kyo made a face towards K'pandolu's question, answering it most likely with that look alone. "Ugh. If you wanna wear it for sleeping in, I guess that's fine..." He crossed his arms and looked balefully at the shorts again. "But it makes me feel like I can't move at all." Anywhere.

But he didn't miss out on that tension again. It was there every time he was with Reno and it didn't take long to figure out it was due to Johnny. Well... Johnny and him and Reno in the same space. He didn't get an explanation, but... kinda didn't need one. He'd gone through enough times with Reno and Rufus and Reno and Cloud to understand.

Shopping. Kyo looked towards the racks, but before he could decide, Reno was talking. Red eyes flicked back to the other guy. "Oh. Yeah. I can show'm around." Tsk, he definitely remembered that little bastard. His freaking leg because of it... The apologetic smile earned a quiet 'hn' of acceptance and Kyo turned off into the store with a small section of the group.

At least it was nice to see Maraich again and it brought a little grin to his face. "Who knows. She's being a bitch, like normal," he offered to answer that question. Only to gape for a second when Maraich smacked Cloud on the ass. "Mara--?! That's not how you greet someone! Jeeze!" the cat yelled.

Seeing Ishida, however, shut him up... somewhat. He'd heard plenty of the man, never met him, ironically. "I'm just browsing but this is a few of their first time." Johnny's comment backed that claim up easily enough.

But while he was here, guess it wouldn't hurt to go looking around-- Whoa, that girl's tail! Kyo slipped backwards, almost taking the excited appendage in the face. Well, that's what he got for trying to slip past her.

When Ishida mentioned the LB again, Kyo blinked and his attention was pulled away from the feline girl. (Okay so... that was interesting...) "Uh, it came back?" The prickly bastard, really?

Oh Gods, Kyo knew. He had to know -- he wasn't an idiot. He might not know everything, but he could figure out enough. Reno swallowed down the recurring feeling of a rock in his stomach. They had to talk -- he had to explain -- ! But how could he? For him, it had been a year... For Kyo, Reno didn't know. Days? Hours?

How do you explain to someone who loves you, who believes in you, that you'd tried to move on?

Reno didn't want to, but he had to. He owed Kyo that. And he still did love him...

"Uh." Reno blinked, distracted. Right, Ishida was talking to him. "Sorry -- no. At least I haven't seen 'im. It's a little complicated. They didn't wake up in the palace. We all came from a portal from another world -- another one like this one, that gathers up people from their homeworlds an' sticks 'em all together. Except their world is dying. And we're supposed ta' fix it... somehow."

He shook his head. It was still a mystery to him, and he'd been living there. "Look, long story short, there's this generator that runs on... well, it seems to be items from home worlds, or wherever someone came from last. Stuff that's significant, stuff with meaning. So, when a portal opened t' here... I figured I'd get some."

Meanwhile, Johnny was acting like everything was fine, despite feeling awkward with Kyo around. Johnny knew very little about him, but what he knew was enough. He decided to mostly hang back with the other Crystallis visitors and stay out of the way of both Reno and Kyo.

He chimed in while idly looking over the racks for anything he might like. "Yep, dyin' world, and here we are talkin' about puttin' Cloud in booty shorts. We really know how to keep our priorities in order."

K'pandolu nodded to Ishida, with a quick smile. "Thank you."

She gave Kyo an apologetic smile- it didn't usually cause that much trouble, and she hoped he wouldn't hold it against her.

She snorted at Johnny, moving to elbow him before looking for a few things. "Well, rather than talking about it, I think I'll try some." Good idea, bad idea? She'll find out.

He didn't push, hadn't ever since he'd got up in this place again. Whatever he knew, whatever Reno had, was something they'd either discuss later or simply let sit by the side. He'd seen a lot in his relationship with Reno and, well, sometimes things were better left unsaid. Whatever it was, though, Kyo knew wasn't going to be easy to swallow. So for now, he tried to focus on the current task at hand, getting people here and there in the store and generally just existing around them.

Didn't stop him from listening to Reno's explanation. That kind of helped get his head around the whole thing again. Sure he'd heard some from the earlier meeting, but... well... crazy shit. How were they supposed to fix their world with this one? It wasn't like Atia was going to give up anything without asking a price. Or demanding one. With interest.

Kyo glanced towards Johnny again. Didn't take an idiot to figure out that was the guy that kind of pinpointed all this unease. It was a little awkward, but as far as the cat could tell, there wasn't anything strange about the other guy. (Well, minus the horns, but hey, he's seen a lot stranger.)

K'pandolu's smile earned a slight blink and a quick arch of his brow. Until he realized what she was apologizing about. "Uh... not your fault," he offered, a little awkward and to the side. "I should've waited." Though the conversation switched from talking to trying and he tilted his head to the side.

"Just be careful. Atia likes to booby-trap things."

"What's wrong with a little friendly greeting?" he asked ever-so-innocently.

This whole mess was confusing as heck, but he was still standing by, listening in. And he certainly wasn't slow on the uptake. Maybe before he'd gotten to Atia he wouldn't be hesitant to believe being dragged to another world, but now...

It was a familiar story. Still surprising, but knowing that people were being dragged to other places, too, had him wondering.

"You got dragged to another world? Again?" he repeated it, clarifying, mulling it over. "And... There's more places where the same thing is happening?"

In their experience it had only been Atia. People had been dragged here and that was it. This was the first he'd ever heard of something bigger. It meant people got off Atia, but not necessarily back to their homes. "And you have a way to travel from here to there without a problem? Can you get anywhere else?"

But, just because he was interested in learning if they'd found a way to travel freely among these worlds didn't mean he was losing his sense of humor. He raised an eyebrow at Kyo. "I can't tell if you said 'booby-trap' on purpose or not."

Cloud pushed aside his discomfort as best he could. He knew well enough that if he lingered in it too long it would just be encouraging Maraich and everyone else. He did appreciate not just Reno but these strangers as well watching out for him. Still, he couldn't help but glance back to Johnny with the driest expression he could muster. "If me winding up in drag would be the thing needed to save Crystallis then we'd have had that taken care of already."

K'pandolu paused in looking through the clothes with a frown, looking at Kyo again. "Even the clothes?" She huffed, shaking her head, but still managed a snort of amusement.

Picking one out and holding it to herself, she twitched one ear towards Cloud. "Maybe we ought to try it with more people?" she suggested. "Imagine Sparks in something long and flowing."

"Uh, it's a little too friendly for some people," Kyo shot back with a wry look. That "innocent" tone wasn't getting past him, Maraich. He knew the man too well. But at least Kyo was right up there with his friend in that he didn't know much of what was going on either. Just these guys were looking for something and it was here. So... not much to go on.

"Apparently. Maybe Atia started a trend or something," the cat muttered. He listened in on the conversation, trying to plug in pieces from what he'd heard last night. It still didn't get too indepth, but whatever, something was better than nothing.

"LIKE HELL I WOULD!" he spazzed. Dammit, Maraich! Don't imply stuff like that! He was just talking and it slipped out that way. Sheesh!

Not that it stopped him from giving Cloud an arched brow and strange expression. "That sounds like you have experience in that... or you're already prepped for it," he said, not at all sounding he was a proponent of the choice. Shoving someone in drag was... yeah. Especially if he suspected Cloud didn't like it.

He glanced back to K'pandolu when she huffed at him, and offered a shrug as his expression twisted. "We've had some strange events on this island. You never know." Kyo was still curious about her... this girl had ears and a tail. "Hey, don't just go volunteering people to get put in drag!"

"This'd be the third world I've visited, I guess. I got dragged to a different one before Crystallizes. it was kinda like my home planet of Earth, but... really fucked up, 'n far in the future. 1300 years in its future."

Johnny shrugged, not sure what else to say about it. He really didn't like talking about Exsilium if he could help it.

"I'm startin' to think there ain't a world in all of creation that ain't fucked up in some way. This one, though. It's, um. It certainly win a prize for most creatively fucked up."

In answer to Maraich's question, though, he shook his head. "Man, I wish. Otherwise, I'd keep lookin' for some place normal anyway. The way we got here is kinda complicated. Meanin' I don't even really know why it's happening. Not exactly anyway."

"Yeah... we didn't really have much of a choice." Reno rubbed the back of his neck. "There's not even a guarantee the portal we came through will be there when we go back. Might've moved."

It still had to exist, though, somewhere. Somehow. Reno had to believe that after seeing what he'd seen. The Interdimensional Rift had countless portals to worlds, existed between and among all of them. Even if people couldn't see a portal, one must always exist somehow...

"If we had control of 'em, we sure as hell would use 'em differently," Reno scoffed.

In a way, the banter was nice, though. A strange normalcy among the insanity that was crossing worlds -- and just being in Atia at all. It made things considerably easier to manage. So he'd let K'pandolu shop, he let Johnny shop, because it was a happy bit of sanity. He chuckled softly at Cloud's cross-dressing expense, giving a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder as he remembered how ready he was to kill Jack Harkness for being a little too interested. How he did try to kill the thirteen moogles and the avatar that had possessed Cloud as their evil mouthpiece. If Cloud in drag would solve anything, they'd have seen a result by now.

"Find something you like," he told K'pandolu and Johnny. "I'll get it." He didn't expect to have future use for his amat anyway.

"Well, if they try that they'll sound find themselves on the wrong side of my needle," K'pandolu said, hands on her hips for a moment. She brought one hand up to hide her laugh. "But he'd look so good in it!" she exclaimed, ears twitched up. Maybe, maybe not. But it was amusing to watch Kyo's reaction.

She nodded, to back up the others' points about the portals.

She beamed at Reno in return, clapping her hands together. "That's most kind of you," she chirped, and tilted her head to the side, tail flicking. "Let's see, then… this shouldn't be something plain." She turned to the racks to pick out a few bottoms and tops, holding them up to check before nodding and heading to try them on.

"Third?" Kyo echoed, glancing over his shoulder at Johnny. He frowned at the explanation, but couldn't really argue anything against it. From one world to the next, a different place from Earth, or a different version. The shrug was about all the comment he'd be able to give to.

Though he did snort at the mention of a world being fucked up. "Duh. There's nothing perfect," he retorted. Kyo's face flattened. "Careful or the Bitch is gonna think you're complimenting her." As curious as he was, Johnny answered his question about how the group had arrived on Amat.

"That sounds great," Kyo droned sarcastically when Reno mentioned their forced trip here. Not having a choice even. He knew about that and hated it when confronted with something like that. "Right, but whoever is controlling them probably doesn't want anyone having that kind of power. If anyone's actually controlling the damn things..."

At Reno's offer to purchase his friends clothes, Kyo offered a little "heh" and nudged him in the ribs. "Softie," he murmured between the two of them. But did his best not to draw any attention to the action.

"Needle?" He glanced over to K'pandolu again, one orange brow cocked in curiosity (and maybe some caution). Though it dropped again when she pushed the issue about the clothes. "That doesn't matter! It's his choice!" Of course, considering the pink on his face, he might just be embarrassed more than personally affronted.

Though finally his curiosity got the better of him and he picked up one of the items on the rack next to her. "So... uh... the ears and tail? I guess that's natural for you?" Excuse his social skills, but how else was he going to broach the topic?

Event || Revelations

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Sorry, was a hella busy weekend

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