[open] I don't plan on breaking down

[pinwheels]

Who: Rinoa Heartilly + you?
What: catch-all for September!
Where: different places around the Void
When: during September, or the equivalent thereof
Content Warnings: n/a! will update if anything comes up


I ☆ Old Friends and New (Mortis Lake)

[ Whether it's because he's apparently part one of those Pokémon things or for some other reason entirely, Felix seems to be quite trainable. Scraps and barbecued meat from the cavern market and promises of affectionate pats and praise seem to be all he needs to keep him going. In that regard, he reminds her a lot of Angelo, even if he seems to be more cat than dog in a lot of ways. He's learned to fetch already, and today she's among the purple trees and foliage of the forest, teaching him to answer to her whistle. He likes to explore, after all, and Rinoa wants to make sure that he'll come back to her when she calls for him.

He's been gone for three minutes, so it's the perfect time to call him back, she thinks. The pointer finger and thumb of her right hand tuck between her lips, her left hand extended with a chunk of the meat. When she whistles though, there's not one shape but two - Felix's small form comes into view from behind the trees just before a dark brown blur overtakes him, crashing straight into Rinoa's solar plexus and sending her sprawling to the ground.

An alarmed, angry squawk from Felix is followed by... a bark.
The feel of a wet nose pressing against her skin.
A heavy, familiar weight against her.

Dazed as she is from the fall, Rinoa manages to sit up, looking at the dog now in her lap. ]

Angelo?

[ Another bark, and just like that she's laughing and crying at the same time, hugging the newcomer close to her, burying her face in her fur. It's not until Felix makes another sound, a gently confused chirp, that she looks up, smiling even as her tears stream down her face. ]

I'm sorry, Felix. We probably scared you, huh?

[ She reaches out to pull her newer friend in, too. Anyone who comes across her for however long will find her like this, both animals in her lap as they sniff each other out, greeting each other cautiously as she showers each of them with love and affection. ]

II ☆ Furniture Shopping (Takoba Beach)

[ She's not sure when it happened exactly, but for a little while now, any trips she's taken to the beach have resulted in her finding more and more stuff for the humble apartment she's taken to calling home in the extended absence of the real thing. So far, she's managed to find a nightstand and a lamp that doesn't do a whole lot more than sit on top of it and look pretty, along with a small coffee table that would pair incredibly well with the sofa sitting in front of her right now. It's a little dirty from the sand, and still waterlogged, but it's otherwise in great shape.

The main problem? By herself, she has almost no chance at all of lifting it. Angelo and Felix are both eager to help, but there's really nothing that they can do either, and so it's with a resigned sigh that the young woman decides to wait for someone to come along and give her a hand.

Anyone who comes across her here will find her sitting on the couch with two animals curled at her feet, a book in her hand as she tries to make sense of its entirely nonsensical text. She'll look up at the approach, a hopeful smile on her lips. ]

Hi! Do you think you could help me out?

III ☆ Relaxation (Bathhouse)

[ Rinoa's been meaning to visit the bathhouse since she first learned of its existence in the cavernous Wall Market, but... well, it's not that she hasn't had time - it feels like here she has nothing but, despite its strange lack of existence (or maybe because of its lack of existence) - it's more that it's been lower on the priority list than... well, than a lot of things, really.

But now that Angelo is here, it's like something has settled in her mind. Squall isn't here, but that doesn't mean he won't show up, the same way she has, the same way Angelo has, the same way all her new friends have from their own worlds. He's not here, but she's not alone, either.

She wasn't before; it just took this long for her to realize it. To accept that she's stronger than she's given herself credit for, before.

And if that's not the kind of thing that deserves a nice, hot, relaxing bath? Then nothing is!

It's with a contented sigh that the young woman slips into the water, eyes closing as she immediately feels her muscles relaxing under its warmth. ]

Mm, I should've done this sooner...

[ Perhaps you're someone coming along for a bath of your own, or perhaps the distortions in the air carry the sound of her voice directly to your ears as she contentedly hums a song to herself. Either way, she has no intention of leaving the area for quite a while! ]

IV ☆ Wildcard

( something else in mind? hit her with something random, or hit me up if you want to request something specific! ♥ )

Comments

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct hesitates a moment before he takes her hand - and honestly, it has more to do with the fact that he is a socially awkward mess than anything to do with her. He does reach out to return the handshake after a moment, though.]

Noct. It's, uh. Good to meet you. And your friends.

[He looks to the animals again and smiles a little before he shakes his hair back out of his face and looks back at her.]

Oh, uh... yeah, that looks heavy, but we can probably do it? It'd help if we had a cart or something.

[But if they don't, they can manage.]

[pinwheels]

[ She smiles when he shakes her hand, and then releases it again a few moments later. ]

Nice to meet you too, Noct.

[ He's a little awkward, but Rinoa can't help think that it's kind of cute. He seems calmer with the animals that with her, so she nudges Angelo, the dog trotting a few steps toward Noct to sniff at his fingers. Rinoa offers him a brief smile, and then moves forward to test the couch. ]

Nothing works properly here. Usually that's annoying but... when we're trying to move this, it might actually help us.

[king_in_dreams]

[Oh, he's a lot awkward, but that's really beside the point. He bends down to offer Angelo his hand, moving it to the dog's ears once the sniffing is over.]

Hey there.

[He looks back up at her.]

Oh, yeah. Ren said physics were weird. Maybe it doesn't really get gravity yet?

[They can hope, anyway, and after giving Angelo a few more scritches, he moves closer to her, toward the other end of the couch.]

[pinwheels]

[ Oh, he's met Ren! Just the thought of that makes her smile. Ren's a good person, and probably one of the most helpful people for a new arrival to meet, too. She nods in response to the suggestion, watching as Noctis scritches at Angelo's ears. Rinoa's partner is more than happy to lap up the affection, even giving a whiny bark when he moves to the end of the couch. ]

I think so. Or... tiredness. You can kind of walk up a whole mountain without getting tired, you know? I've done it once or twice now.

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct laughs a little as Angelo follows him.]

Let's move this first, okay?

[He'll absolutely give you more scritches later, Angelo.]

So maybe between gravity and physics or whatever not working right, and it being easy to do physical stuff, this won't be too bad. [A pause.] On three?

[pinwheels]

On three.

[ She smiles her agreement at the man across from her as she crouches down to support the weight of the couch on her side. ]

Be good, Angelo. [ It's a playful admonishment offered her partner's way before she glances back up at Noctis. ] One, two...

...three! [ She straightens her legs, hoisting the couch with her. As she waits to make sure that they're stable, she nods across at him. Surely they can chat while they work, right? ] You're pretty new here, right?

[king_in_dreams]

[Noct straightens with her, lifting the couch and then starting to walk once they've got a handle on things.]

Yeah. It's kinda hard to know how long I've been here, since I don't think I've seen it get dark, yet? But I definitely haven't been here long.

[A pause.] You?

[pinwheels]

[ She shakes her head, a slight movement that won't change her center of gravity, won't distract her from what they're doing. That's the thing about this place... how can anyone measure time when it doesn't exist? Nor do they even need to sleep, so... ]

I was here before the world was anything. Just for a moment. ...Or maybe longer. Like you said, it's kinda hard to tell, you know?