Day 2: Useless Freedom

[twinsavior]

Characters: Asch fon Fabre, Natalia Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (AU) (closed)
Location: Grand Chokmah
Time: Early afternoon (Day 2)
Warnings: None so far~

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[velvet_glove]

It hadn't been the most pleasant experience, camping out on the road, knowing that -- while their conversation with Generals Cecille and Ling had been somewhat heartening -- they might yet be attacked by soldiers from either side (even both sides), at any moment. Sleep did not come easily, and the uneven earth made for a rough bed.

But she endured it, and silently, because there were worse things ahead of them. People were dying. Her people; Malkuth's people. And all of it, meaningless. All of it because they thought she and Luke had perished--

So she had stayed awake long into the night, but clearly at some point she had fallen asleep, because now she appeared to be waking up, and

[twinsavior]

Asch, sadly, hadn't been one of the those few customers who had noticed Natalia's presence. Not at first, anyhow. His gaze was too fixed on the shelves of items - some more violent than others - and the people behind the counter. He wasn't fond of shopping. There was just something about the whole experience, from the rude clerks who couldn't bag things right to not finding that shirt you wanted to the girlfriend who made you stay in the store for five more hours. Or in his case, his own mother.

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. Even if he hated shopping, he still had to spend a decent amount of time in here. He had freedom to move about as he pleased by himself, so he'd better make the most of it. What else could he do, though, but look at the items and choose whichever looked the least suspicious?

(If he even thought to bring those apple gels back.. heavens knows what they'd start thinking of him and his so-called "violent tendencies

[velvet_glove]

The voice was familiar, on at least three separate levels -- Natalia startled, straightened, began to speak. "Luke! At least we were not completely separated! Have you--"

And then she stopped, her expression tightening. "...Asch," she corrected herself brusquely. "I am sorry." She kept making that mistake, and no doubt it was unpleasant for him.

He had expressed concern for her -- but that was no reason to let her guard down. Whatever Luke may have thought of his original, whatever past she and he may have shared, it changed none of the salient facts. Asch was still a God-General, and they had not yet been able to discover his motives. She shifted her hand to the hilt of her sword and kept it there. "You. Are you responsible for bringing me here?"

[twinsavior]

He didn't know what he did to deserve that face. Frowning, he shook his head. "Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong."

To be honest, her actions towards him were odd for a girl who was supposedly his best friend. She seemed... almost wary of him. Yeesh, this wouldn't bode well. He had most likely done something horrible to her (as if he were capable of doing more than tickling her), and she hadn't forgiven him yet. It couldn't be too bad... hopefully...

That was when he noticed the sword. His eyes widened; he immediately glanced over at the shelves of rune bottles. "... No. It's not in my nature," He responded. How on Auldrant had she gained a sword? Could she even use it...? It was a crazy thought.

You learn something new every day, he supposed. "... Out of curiosity, when did you learn to use a sword?"