(Untitled)

[oliverplus]

Characters: Oliver Day (oliverplus) and OPEN
Location: Your reality!
Time: After Oliver's fairytale has ended, and during or after yours, as you prefer
Summary: Oliver goes on an involuntary reality-hopping tour of the multiverse~
Warnings: Oliver is a geek, and depending on your reality, he might just show it. Possibly a lot

Comments

[promisedsomeone]

The first thing greeting Oliver was a white-dressed soldier with a blade thrust through his stomach. He made a pained face and gurgled the last of his life as he fell to his knees. Behind him was Asch, ever the shadow of death, his foot braced against the man's back so that he could pull out his sword.

He hesitated to sheathe his sword. "Oliver?" His voice was thick with disbelief, perhaps a bit higher since he was caught off guard. "What are you doing here?!"

Well, this looked bad, didn't it?

Surrounding them were grassy plains, and in the distance a plateau of some sort. The sky was a bright, clear blue, and the iridescent Fonbelt was visible in the sky.

There were also three other dead soldiers, but that was beside the point.

[oliverplus]

Oliver was not at all expecting the sight that greeted him when he arrived in Auldrant. In fact, he was so stunned that all he could do was take a few stumbling steps back and hope that maybe this time he was dreaming. But it couldn't be a dream, could it? There was a dead man at his feet, bleeding away on the ground, and he could smell it, and weren't smells supposed to be missing from dreams? Even so, he hoped it was a dream because the alternative was that he had appeared just in time to see someone be killed, and he didn't want to believe that. He could already feel the guilt welling up inside him at the very thought

[promisedsomeone]

He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be having this conversation with Oliver especially. Asch didn't believe that Oliver was innocent to fighting, to the consequences of war. But exposing him to it unnecessarily wouldn't help his cause. He had to acknowledge that he placed some trust in the man-- yes, he was older than Asch by some years-- and while that terrified him in some respects, it was good to have a capable ally on the Plane. That was what Asch told himself, that their friendship was one of business and sometimes complaining, and not much more than that. But Asch had fed him and watched him while Oliver was a child, and he had watched over him yet again when Oliver's life was on the line

[oliverplus]

The physical contact snapped him out of it more than anything. He jerked away, taking several quick steps backwards. "I see you!" he snapped, his horror quickly turning to anger. His mind was screaming for Asch and his bloody hands to stay bloody well away from him. Oliver had just watched him kill in cold blood, and as unbelievable as that was, what was somehow worse was how calm Asch was being about it. Had Oliver really misjudged him that badly?

"What is this?" Oliver demanded, jerking his hand to take in the soldiers around them. "Why!?" The word was much stronger this time--and much angrier.

[promisedsomeone]

His hands held only the dead air. Asch kept his stare even and slowly lowered his hands to his sides. Maybe if he was anyone else, he wouldn't feel so damn defensive about being yelled at. He was a soldier, this was what he did for a living. He had killed hundreds of people without even thinking about it, because at the end of the day, they would have killed him the same way.

But coming from Oliver... it began to infuriate him. Oliver had no context, no nothing. Asch didn't style himself as a hero or a good person, but at least his intentions weren't shameful. He was always being singled out as the bad guy, and though he occasionally placed himself in that position out of necessity, it wasn't something he really enjoyed.

He felt the anger rising in his stomach, and his fists tightened. "Don't be stupid! Did you really think that I don't have enemies? I'm a soldier. They were trying to kidnap me and they would've beaten me within an inch of my life if I let them!"

[oliverplus]

It was a good reason. As good of a reason as one could have, really, though killing was never justified in Oliver's mind. But he was still stunned and confused and angry at what had happened, and now he was angry that Asch was angry, even if Oliver did understand somewhat. "Then say that!" he yelled back. "Just...god, why did it have to be here!?"

If he'd been on the Plane, this was the point at which he would have started to yell his frustration at the sky, but his pride wouldn't have it, nor could he risk it here--particularly if Asch's enemies were nearby. So he turned away instead, starting rather aimlessly to stalk off in a random direction. He wasn't thinking straight; he was just upset and angry. But his feelings for his friend were eating at him, too, struggling against his desire to get away. He stopped, turning back to Asch. "Look...was that all of them? Are you safe here?"

[promisedsomeone]

"I don't even know how the hell you got here!" It was the truth. "My business is my own. That's why I don't fight in front of you people." That tone was rather accusatory, and it was something he usually reserved for the replica and his friends. He used it to isolate himself from those around him. "It's not your world, so there's no way you could understand my-the situation." But... that wasn't completely true, was it?

Asch was angry, and that meant the firm hold he usually had on his emotions dwindled to the point where he looked like the fool. But he had to shove that aside. He wasn't about to let Oliver get lost in a pre-wartime world, especially with bandits and soldiers lurking outside the cities. He really cared too much. But he also knew that there would be more than one flaw in his plan if he managed to make enemies on the Plane. The swordsman watched Oliver's back carefully in case he decided to run off after all

[oliverplus]

"Well, it wasn't my choice!" Oliver snapped back, his anger still getting the better of his reactions. "And I might understand if you ever explained it instead of disappearing all the time

[promisedsomeone]

Asch turned and started toward a grassy knoll in the distance. Just as coldly, he responded, "I have better things to do than invite people to interfere." Well, that certainly said a lot about the state of things.

True to his word, the outcropping wasn't too far off; it appeared safe enough, and they could hide easily from prying eyes. The walk was easy, the grass soft, and the atmosphere pleasant. The only thing wrong with this scene was the awkwardness between the two. One would expect two friends to be chatting animatedly or perhaps explaining some of the landmarks, such as the glowing Fonbelt present in the sky.

Asch offered nothing except his sturdy back and an ever-present hand on his sword.

[oliverplus]

Oliver scowled at Asch's response. "Yeah, I see that!" he retorted, his temper insisting on getting one more jab in. He was too mad to say what he was really feeling--how concerned he'd been about Asch because of the way the other man stormed off every time they talked. And how worried he was now, after seeing what he'd seen. It looked like there was more at work here than anyone should have to handle by themselves, and Asch wasn't letting him help, which frustrated Oliver to no end

[promisedsomeone]

There wasn't anything Oliver could do to help. He wasn't a part of this world, and even if he was, he lacked the skills needed to defend himself-- let alone gather information for Asch. The soldier had decided a long time ago that Oliver was better-suited to the Plane. He knew when to take cover there, and he knew when to interview and collect data. He was, overall, very effective at dealing with the goings-on. Asch liked that. He liked that at least one person would humor his questions and give him information without too much of a struggle. And he liked that Oliver listene, when Asch needed him to

[oliverplus]

Oliver followed Asch in silence, his emotions about the situation still tumultuous. But he was relieved to arrive at the sheltered area; it made him feel a little better to see that Asch probably was safe here. It looked protected and convenient enough, at least.

At Asch's instruction, he sighed inwardly, fending off the unreasonable desire to be annoyed at that, too. After all, he knew well enough that Asch was like that. So he sat on another rock, watching Asch spread out food in front of them, and trying to come up with some way to fill the silence that wouldn't just get him snapped at. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to mind.

[promisedsomeone]

If Asch noticed that his company was awkward, he did nothing to alleviate it on his end. He wasn't the type to hum while working, preferring instead to harbor a near-sacred silence. He sliced the bread with a small paring knife, buttered each side, and began to assemble a couple of thick sandwiches from leftover cold cuts, sweet lettuce and herb, and cheese. It didn't take much time or effort. The trick was to do the cooking ahead of time and gather ingredients along the way. Cleanup was also quick and simple. Somehow everything fit into the bag from whence it came, though the fonic glyph scrawled across the back probably had something to do with it

[oliverplus]

The silence was less sacred and more oppressive in Oliver's opinion. He watched Asch curiously, struggling to distract himself from his own thoughts. The cooking was simple, mechanical--not so much interesting as a rhythm that he could focus his thoughts on if he wanted to. Oliver was surprised by the bag at least, although he was no stranger to things--including pockets--that were bigger on the inside. He just hadn't expected to see that technology here

[promisedsomeone]

Asch took a seat again, giving his guest (and himself) plenty of space. This meeting was terribly awkward, even tragic in a way. But he refused to acknowledge what was written plainly before him, refused to change himself to suit the situation. No. He would change the situation to suit him, or at least as much as he could.

In time, the words "I'll probably disappear soon" would carry special meaning, but Asch had no idea of the implications on his own future. "Probably," he answered, picking at his own food. "But you don't know exactly how long it will be. We'll camp here until then."

Unless...

"Has anyone tried forcefully dragging you back to the Plane?" He should have thought of that before, but they were in the middle of an emergency situation.

[oliverplus]

"Yeah, okay," Oliver said. He let his eyes wander over the campsite and its surroundings, mostly as a continued excuse not to meet Asch's gaze. While Asch ate, Oliver's own sandwich stayed where he'd set it down.

At Asch's idea, however, he did look up, surprised. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Really, why hadn't Christine or one of the others thought of it? Oliver shook his head. "No. I've just tried to go back myself."

He closed his eyes and thought of the Plane again, partially to demonstrate and partially just in case it actually worked this time. It didn't.