presidentheartbeat | Lloyd and Zelos' Arts and Crafts Corner

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Lloyd and Zelos' Arts and Crafts Corner

When Kratos takes Sheena off to the side to talk, the first thing Zelos does is pretend he doesn't see it happen. He knows a plea for privacy when he sees one, and even if Zelos feels a small stab of anxiety at the prospect of those two talking one on one, if there's one thing the Aegis knows he has to start fucking doing for once in his life it's trusting the driver who bailed him out of captivity.

So instead of calling out to Sheena like he wants to, instead of making himself invisible to sulk and overthink as he'd originally planned to, despite all of the nerves in his core with how recent his last outburst still is, Zelos uses the time and energy to yawn loudly and stretch where he stands. Much like a cat that's dragging attention to himself, away from his driver, exaggerating the notions before he drops his hands to rest on his hips instead. "Wellp!" he says brightly, pushing some hair over his shoulder. "Fire's going, night's young, and I feel like checking the perimeter real quick. Who's up for a night walk with yours truly?"

It doesn't take long before Sheena and Kratos' signatures are far enough from camp that Zelos is pretty sure that they've got their privacy, but Zelos keeps himself as the beacon of attention anyway, just in case. Close to the fire, illuminated by the flames, Zelos maintains a low-effort smile on his face, anxiously awaiting an answer.

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If he's completely honest, Lloyd has been paying little attention to the things going around him since their encounter with Mithos. He's aware of some sort of tension between Zelos, Sheena, and Kratos, and made it a point to be there for Malos in the aftermath of his panic attack, but he feels disconnected from his body, mind-numbed from the wave of emotions he felt as soon as he brought up the block. All things considered, he could do with distraction to stop his thoughts from wandering, eyes watching the flames, void of any obvious mood.

So when Zelos stands and announces his plans for a perimeter check, Lloyd finds himself shrugging on his jacket and getting to his feet too, flashing Zelos a smile. "I'll join you. It's nice out, anyways."

Lloyd inconspicuously pats at his jacket's right pocket, double-checking to make sure the miniature of Zelos' sword is there, as it's been since he finished the carving. Usually, he'd paint the wood - or at least polish it - but one can't really be picky on the quality of things while on the run. Still, hesitance begins to creep into Lloyd's heart. What if Zelos doesn't like it? Does it seem weird to make things for friends like this? What if he thinks it's dumb and so is Lloyd by association?

Taking a breath, Lloyd waves the sudden anxieties away, going for some sort of confidence instead. He squares his shoulders and strengthens his smile, stepping up to Zelos and tilting his head forward. "After you."

With a snap of his fingers the flames behind Zelos crackle playfully, and he uses the dramatics of his environment to raise his arm and lower it slowly until he's pointing at Lloyd, smirk growing. "We got a winner!" Zelos announces, then shrugs and laughs, gestures towards the rest of the camp. "So sorry to everyone else, but you were all just too slow. Better luck next time!"

Now with Lloyd on tow, Zelos waves him over to follow and walks off over to where Kratos and Sheena left to, fully intending on starting close to where he knows they are, but not deep enough into the surrounding area to hear them or run into them. To make walking past them undetected even easier, Zelos keeps the air full of his own voice by talking about how tonight's dinner differs from Meltokio's more extravagant meals or something equally as stupid and useless, fully intending on distracting Lloyd through it. At least once that checkpoint's passed he gets to the rest of the perimeter check without worrying about running into either of them and the chat lowers down.

Still, though. There's something at the back of Zelos' mind. An image tinted cyan that he can't really forget, but can't ever think of fully in-depth. Not knowing how to ask he just keeps that tucked safely into his core and laughs instead, throwing his head back as they step into a small clearing where the moons' lights shine brightest after the clouds recede. "Wow, two full moons," Zelos calls, coming to a stop. "Guess we don't need to worry about visibility for the most part tonight."

Lloyd laughs at Zelos' shenanigans, grin widening, taking a slight bow as he plays along with the dramatics of the situation, and then following Zelos as they walk away from the campsite. Zelos seems like he's ready to handle the lead of the conversation, so Lloyd chimes in where he feels necessary, teasing Zelos about his expensive taste and adding in dumb stories about Sylavaranti cuisine. It's the kind of mindless conversation they've usually had during their nighttime walks, shallow and fun and a good step towards getting to know each other. Lloyd really likes these talks, all things considered.

The conversation quiets down as they step into the clearing and Lloyd glances upwards, staring at the two moons that hang overhead. "Huh, yeah. I guess it is pretty bright out," he says, affirming Zelos' observations. "Not that we'd have to worry about visibility anyways considering you're a fire blade. Can't you just like, cover yourself in flames all badass or something?"

Lloyd's half asking as a joke, half-serious. Can you blame him for wanting to know more about how Zelos' powers work? As made obvious by the fact that he carved out Zelos' blade - (the carving burns through his pocket, and every time he thinks about mentioning it he feels embarrassment creep up his chest) - Lloyd's entirely curious and amazed by blades. He's seen Kratos, Zelos, and Malos' power, been healed by Nia, and they're all so different and so beautiful. It'd be amazing to know more about how they work firsthand.

"I dunno, I just think your powers are cool. Blades are really cool!"

Okay, Zelos actually laughs at Lloyd's question, though it's more out of amusement than anything. Sure, Zelos' powers as a fire blade are pretty extensive and incredible on their own, but like, really? setting himself ablaze? That's kind of pushing it pretty far--Aegis or not, Zelos isn't entirely sure just what exactly his limits are and he's not about to start testing them now.

"Aha, dunno about setting myself on fire, bud," Zelos says once he's calmed down. What he does know, though, is that his sword is still full of untapped potential he really, really wants to dig further into, so. "But," he adds, "I can control almost any flame I can get close to so long as the ether is undisturbed. Fire manipulation is just temperature manipulation, which is in turn ether particle manipulation, really. And," he reaches forward with a grin, summoning his sword with a flash of brilliant fire, then throws it over his shoulder like it's nothing, flames and all.

He gives Lloyd a wink, waits a couple of seconds. For dramatics' sake, really. "There's always this baby," he finally says. "I can just focus my energy into the fire here instead."

Lloyd's eyes follow the lines of the blade as soon as it's summoned, unable to hide his excitement at seeing it up close again. If he's allowed to gloat, he doesn't think his carving is half bad in its likeness of the blade's design, so his grin widens out just a bit. Maybe Zelos will still think it's stupid, but at least it's a correct type of stupid.

"See, you're saying all of that like it's just easy to do, like particle manipulation in itself isn't an incredible ability," Lloyd points out, throwing out his hands while shaking his head in awe. "Even if you can't set yourself on fire, which, bummer, but I get it. Everyone's got a limit after all, even if the blade acts as a middleman here."

He pulls his arms back to his side, reaches into his pocket to grab at the carving, and turns it over in his hand. "Honestly, just the sword itself is amazing. I'm a blacksmith's apprentice who stares at cool swords as a hobby, so take my word for it, really."

Pulling the carving out of his pocket, he smiles at Zelos. "Take this, also," he says, stepping forward and pressing the miniature into Zelos' freehand, hoping he looks way more confident than the anticipation and anxiety flowing through his veins let him feel. "I've been working on it for a bit. It's for you, obviously, so uh - consider it a thank you? You've gotten us out of some super tight spots, so. Hope you like it!"

Getting praised never gets old, Zelos thinks, not even after the disaster that was last night. Zelos allows himself to preen just a little as Lloyd sings praises again, chin up, smile big, and lets a genuine snort escape him at Lloyd's comment about swords. Honestly, who better to compliment him than a blacksmith, right? This is nice. It's like an excuse to think he's actually liked, a good distraction. Then Lloyd steps forward, and all of Zelos' smugness is replaced with sharp curiosity as he feels something slightly heavy pressed into his gloved hand. Huh.

Once Lloyd releases him and he looks at what's in his hand, it's a little like everything stops.

The wooden miniature is delicately carved, each little detail on the finer metals of Zelos' sword accounted for and taken care of, a testament to careful observation and meticulous work. Really, Zelos could recognize his own blade anywhere, but there's something special about seeing it like this that leaves him momentarily speechless as he stares, not really listening to whatever Lloyd's saying, eyes scanning the carving from afar until something in Zelos spreads and shatters his expression into a large grin.

"Holy shit!" he shouts, immediately letting go of his sword in favour of holding the miniature with both hands and bringing it closer for inspection. The weapon drops carelessly, but at least vanishes into a flurry of flames before it even hits the ground, the red and orange light show ending and leaving the moonlight behind for Zelos to inspect every detail of the carving to his metaphorical heart's content as he holds it up to it and admires it. "Excuse me? This is me! You made this? Holy shit, that's amazing. What the fuck, that's my sword!" He laughs again. "It's so small! That's adorable!"

Chuckles escape Lloyd as he watches Zelos' excitement, a dopey smile stretching across his face as he does. Zelos is so cute, honestly, with his lively mannerisms and his wide grin. Red blooms across Lloyd's cheeks and he bites his lip as Zelos coos over the carving, pleased to know he likes it but bashful at the compliments, completely at a loss for what to do with himself. Eventually, he settles for scratching at the back of his neck, looking away enough from Zelos to reorganize his thoughts best he can. "I-I'm glad you like it, man. Carving's a big hobby of mine, and uh. I guess I was inspired?"

This reaction is not what Lloyd thought he was going to get out of Zelos: best case, he had hoped for a dumb line about admiring him or something, something Lloyd could brush off and respond back to. This is genuine, this is honest, and it's making Lloyd's heart pound so hard he's left starry-eyed. Don't fuck it up, Irving. Don't fuck it up.

Dropping his hand, Lloyd looks back at Zelos, hoping the blush isn't too obvious in the dark. Why is Zelos so fucking cute, this is so hard! "Thanks for the kind words, and uh - I mean it's yours to do as you see fit with, but if you need me to drill a hole in it or something I can do that too."

Still admiring all the detailing work put into the miniature under the strong combined moonlight, Zelos lets himself chuckle before he lowers the carving again, offering a smirk to replace the big, open grin from earlier. Something a little more guarded and controlled. It comes easier than he'd expected when Zelos looks back to notice that Lloyd is blushing, actually, and that's both curious and amusing all in its own right. Why would he be blushing? "I think I'll take you up on that. Wouldn't want this to get lost or anything, right?" he replies, shrugging.

Then he snorts. "A blacksmith that also does woodcarving. You're a man of many talents, huh?" Zelos says, head tilted to the side, smirk now accompanied by a playful squint. He laughs. "Well, I can't say I blame you for wanting to recreate an Aegis sword. It is pretty awesome. Especially mine."

He's still got the carving in both hands as he speaks, gloved fingers wandering about the details. This is... bizarre, in all honesty--sure, Zelos is no stranger to being showered in gifts and praise for being who and what he is, but there's something different in this one that feels a tad intoxicating in the way Lloyd plays coy and the care put into the gift itself. It feels innocent, in a way. The realization softens his expression somewhat, and he looks back down at the carving before it can fully show in his face. "Thanks, though," he mutters as casually as he possibly can. "This is so well made. Have you been watching my sword during fights?"

Crossing his arms and tilting his head to the left, glancing at a particularly interesting patch of grass, Lloyd shrugs as casually as he can, but the grin on his face is completely telling of his happiness, the blush on his face receding as their conversation takes a turn for the playful. "My dad's always raised me to be a crafty kid. Woodcarving is just the easiest thing to do on the road, and it keeps my hands busy, so."

And then Zelos' expression softens again and Lloyd has to brace himself against the way his own expression threatens to shift into something adoring. The blush returns with a vengeance at Zelos' question, so Lloyd busies himself with adjusting his right glove, head hung just enough to stop Zelos from seeing him flush. Sure, Zelos, he was watching the sword during fights, not you.

"I have an eye for these sorts of things, honestly. It's easy to remember details for swords and stuff, and yours is way different from most I've seen, so - yeah. Plus, you let me see it up close before and that helped, too. Blacksmiths gotta know their way around a sword, and I wouldn't give you something I don't think did it justice."

Was that last part a little much? It feels like a little much. He wants to groan, put his head in his hands, and retire to an island where he never has to face cute boys and their glow blushes and their excited smiles, but. Ugh. Dropping his glove, Lloyd forces the smile on his face into something a little more generally happy and less gay. "When we get back to camp I'll get on drilling that hole in, so don't worry about it."

Architect, okay, Lloyd's getting really weird about this. Zelos lowers the miniature and takes a good look at Lloyd, finds him looking like he's going to die where he stands, despite the smile he so desperately fights to keep in place. So in retaliation Zelos rolls his eyes.

"Hey, don't look so shy!" Zelos teases, slithering up to Lloyd's side and elbowing him slightly. Then he sets an arm on Lloyd's shoulder, using him as an armrest while his free hand gestures about with the carving. "Hobbies on the road are a great idea! You're super talented, anyway." Zelos nods, bringing a hand to his chin as if pensive. "And now that I know you can do this stuff, I think you should totally make a miniature statuette of me in my full splendor," he winks. "Or maybe several."

Honestly, he's enjoying himself. But there's a moment then, sudden, where a flash of hot anger sneaks its way through the emotional link, right before the link itself is abruptly cut in half from Sheena's end. A small panic bursts in Zelos' core before it's quickly turned into sharp worry instead, and he keeps his expression controlled and happy as he sends that worry Sheena's end. 'You okay?' it asks before Zelos pushes it at the back of his mind, anxiously awaiting an answer.

Edited 2019-07-23 17:43 (UTC)

Zelos' weight on Lloyd and the light praise he gives him makes Lloyd's mind short-circuit, overwhelmed and embarrassed and pleased and everything in between. Back on his own Aselia, Lloyd had gotten used to his Zelos draping himself on him, but for as much as they've talked, there's been minimal contact between this Zelos and him. Within the context of his quickly ballooning crush and this rather sweet conversation they've had, Lloyd feels like he's so hopeless in his affection that he's going to pass out.

Whatever. He shoves on a brave face, ignoring how his cheeks still burn, and responds to Zelos' teasing with practiced skill, his stutter being the only verbal clue as to his embarrassment. "I-I'll have to make sure I get your big head down, if I do. That ego has to go somewhere."

He lets himself relax into Zelos' touch, too, reaching over to flick his forehead. "Seriously though man, I'm happy you like it. You saved our asses back in the mines, I can't really thank you enough for that."

The comment about his ego and the flick to his forehead at least get a laugh out of Zelos as he pushes himself off Lloyd, literally only now realizing how he's practically draped himself over him. Wow, Zelos. What the heck. Okay, whatever--Zelos literally waves that off while laughing, succeeding in thinking nothing of it while his mind zooms in on something else that Lloyd's just said instead.

It's been a while since the mines, long enough for it to no longer be Zelos' main concern, but recent enough for his mood to spike downwards just a pinch at being reminded of that encounter. He looks up at the moons and takes in their light, remembers Malos' gratitude, wonders just what would've happened had he not acted when he did, if he hadn't pushed himself that far. Everyone played a role in their survival. Zelos was just doing what he had to do. But there's something else about that that sticks out in the corners of Zelos' mind, is the thing. A cyan glow right before the caves collapsed, greeting him after he'd blown the wall of debris up. A glowing blur sprouting from Lloyd's back. Is that a thing in Lloyd's world, or was it a manifestation of this world's ether in a foreign body? Does Sheena have it?

What was that?

The questions tap at his core, crawl up his throat, exit his mouth. "Lloyd," he calls for his attention, head lowering so Zelos can stare at the grass. He opens and closes his hands into fists. Quietly and in his mind, Zelos apologizes to him for bringing the mood down, but... he wants to know. "There's... something I wanna ask. Back at the mines"--Zelos turns to face him now, a curious look on his face--"you had wings on your back. Was that... was that ether?"

And just like that, the joy of Lloyd's mood is ciphered out from him, as sudden as a rug being pulled out from under his feet. His smile falters as he swallows, letting a nervous laugh escape him before he allows himself to talk. Realistically, he knew this would come up at some point - (he remembers the way Colette's wings seared into his mind the first time he saw them, and those were a semblance of normal) - but he had hoped it wouldn't be this soon, before he had some excuse ready for why he is able to sprout wings on command. Overthinking his next words, he hangs his head and scuffs his boot against the dirt, desperate to move somehow.

"Well - usually they're formed out of mana," Lloyd says after a few moments of silence, bringing his head up again to meet Zelos' gaze, the crickets around them seemingly amplifying the quiet between the two with their noisy cries. "But my grasp on where mana ends and where ether starts in this world has been kinda funky since I got here, so."

Lloyd sighs, opens his hand, and feels the mana that surges through his body as he commands it to. Having a complete awareness of its presence and knowledge on how to control it still feels foreign, as used as he is to barely acknowledging it past the fact that it was there. "But. Yeah, those wings were ether. I think they've adapted to this world, even though my body wasn't made for it." The ether overuse scars that dance around his shoulder blades help prove his theory, and even if his body wasn't made for the wings to begin with, but that's another conversation for another day.

They're... they were originally mana? Okay, that makes sense, Zelos thinks, but now the problem lies in the fact that, when translated into this world, they're now made of ether. All at once all of Zelos' nerves hotwire his brain and rapid-fire question after question: how much ether, exactly? Pure ether or a mixture of ether and mana? Did the bulk of it come from the concentrated ambient ether in the mines, or was that straight out of Lloyd's reserves? Does he have ether in his veins, now? Is this why he got poisoned?

Okay, what the hell. Without really thinking about it, Zelos steps forward and rushes to roughly grasp Lloyd's shoulder, then pushes him to turn around so that Lloyd's back is to him. Ignoring any protests he then sets both of his palms on his shoulder-blades, feeling for the ether concentrated in there. It's logical, anyway--that's where the wings came from in the first place. Zelos is no healing blade, and even though he's pretty sure Nia must've handled everything when she was healing the rest of them, he is an Aegis, and he might be able to pick up on something else just because he's particularly sensitive to the stuff.

"Did it hurt? Does it still hurt? Look--humans aren't made to be handling so much ether in their bodies," Zelos says in some sort of explanation, trying to multitask, "and you're not even from here in the first place, so we need to watch out in case it fucks you up, or something. I mean," he snorts, "if you die on my watch I have a feeling that Sheena will return me to core crystal form." Hell, he might have to check up on Sheena after this, actually. Discreetly he pings some more concern her way. What's she doing?

Edited 2019-07-23 22:20 (UTC)

Heart flying down another loop-de-loop on the rollercoaster this conversation has made of his emotions, he nearly chokes on spit as Zelos suddenly reaches out to him, turning him around and pressing his hands against his shoulder blades. "H-hey, what!"

Red bursts in Lloyd's cheeks and he curses his name as he's once again knocked down from whatever composure he had gained while discussing the wings. Only able to focus on Zelos' concern with a fraction of his usual attention span, mostly distracted by the touches and desperately trying to reel in his own thundering pulse rate, Lloyd shoots Zelos a surprised look over his shoulder before thinking better of it and focusing his gaze back in front of him. Zelos, this is unfair, you don't even know what you're doing to him!

Swallowing hard, holding back a shiver as Zelos brushes a hand over his spine, Lloyd orders his mind back in functional order. "H-hah, yeah, I guess I'm a weird case then!" That sounded shaky Lloyd, get your voice back together you absolute disaster or you're gonna weird him out! He licks his dry lips and tries again. "I meant, though, uh. That I wasn't supposed to have wings at all, on my own world or otherwise. I think," he pauses, wondering which deity out there is having a laugh at his expense this time, "that - uh, the ether I expended with the wings combined with whatever the mines had and -" a break, as he struggles to find the best way to word this, "the aftereffects of the blast, and that's what caused the high. But I should be alright now? I hope, anyways. The wings always hurt to summon, but they haven't hurt since I last used them, so."

If Zelos' hands weren't already there, Lloyd would pat himself on the back for being able to get through all of that without melting into the puddle he wants so desperately to become at the moment. He thinks Zelos is checking for injury because he cares, and that makes Lloyd's heart burst with affection he can't do anything with, so he stands uselessly, instead.

Edited 2019-07-23 23:13 (UTC)

The first thing that Zelos becomes aware of with his hands pressed to Lloyd's back is the jumpy, yet incredible feeling of Lloyd's ether signature swirling under his palms as he checks and re-checks for any damage left behind. It feels powerful, like a sea current in his veins that's running through and amplifying the entirety of Lloyd's being. A little more discordant than regular ether in a human's body. That strikes him as odd, if worrying, because Zelos hasn't felt a signature like this before. Is this special just because Lloyd's not from this world? What about Sheena? Does he have to check in on her now, too?

A note of reassurance washes over him suddenly as the emotional link opens back up. The relief is instantaneous. Architect, at least she's fine. So, okay. Yeah, he probably will check with her at some point. Just not yet.

Anyway.

Zelos hums along as Lloyd explains himself, feeling for the first signs of something being not quite right here. It's been a while since the mines, so it makes sense for Lloyd's ether channels to have healed some already, but there's still a trail of burnt ether somewhere near his shoulder-blades where the wings most likely sprouted from. Well, that's bad. If Lloyd intends to heal properly then he should avoid summoning the wings in a good while, and Zelos says so.

Still, there's something else here that's curious. Guided by the ether currents in Lloyd's back and without really thinking about it, Zelos reaches a hand over to the other's right shoulder, feeling the ether pulling itself somewhere down his arm. Huh. Lloyd says he was never supposed to have wings, and now that he does, his body isn't used to them. Mana seems to be a pretty one to one equivalent to ether in Lloyd's world, and it's gathering itself in a particular spot, much like a blade's core crystal would gather ether into itself. Interesting. Zelos is halfway through reaching a hand down his arm, following the flow and putting together a hypothesis in his mind, when he realizes what he's doing and abruptly lets go of Lloyd, pushing himself back a few steps.

Wow, holy shit, Zelos. No wonder Lloyd's all tense and probably blushing--that was fucking handsy as hell. And if that stone he holds on his right hand is anything like a core crystal then Lloyd sure as fucking hell wouldn't want anyone touching it. Architect, okay. That's embarrassing. He clears his throat and sets a hand under his chin, going for pensive to cover for himself, and goes to bite the bullet instead. "Does that stone on your hand have anything to do with it? It feels like a core crystal, but you're not a blade, are you?"

Strike Lloyd dead where he stands, this has to be a form of torture.

He thought the touches were bad when Zelos had his attention centered on Lloyd's shoulder blades, but the way he drags his hand up his shoulder and halfway down Lloyd's arm has the poor boy biting his tongue to keep his expression as blank as he can manage, hoping the way his eyebrows knit together and his eyes stay wide through this interaction aren't too telling of the way Zelos' mere touch flusters him to Derris Kharlan and back. Lloyd sighs quietly under his breath, the desire to move and put distance between himself and Zelos growing with every passing second. If he were a smarter man, he'd do that. However, Lloyd has never leaned into his intelligence, and he selfishly tells himself that this is fine, that Zelos doesn't seem to mind, and Lloyd is always some sort of touch-starved anyways, what's adding a crush to the mix going to do?

(A lot, actually. Zelos is everywhere and it's driving Lloyd mad, the desire to kiss him and the firm knowledge that he can't making Lloyd's head spin so fast he's dizzy.)

Zelos steps away soon enough, however, and Lloyd allows himself to relax, take in a breath he hadn't let himself breathe for the sheer fact that he didn't want to bring attention to his state of being. His shoulders dropping slightly, he crosses his left arm over his chest and uses looking at his exsphere as an excuse to not look at Zelos as he attempts to calm his rapid heartbeat, too flustered to meet his gaze. Is this revenge for when he put Zelos' sword on his lap without realizing the implications of that?

Question, Lloyd. Zelos asked you a question.

"Aha, n-no," Lloyd responds, clearing his throat again. "No, I'm not a blade. I -"

He pauses, blinking, because he's not really a human anymore, is he? And as easy at it seems to just spit out I'm an angel, the words get lodged in his throat, a truth he doesn't want to verbally acknowledge anymore. So he doesn't say that, just allows them to be swallowed back as he switches explanation tracks. "The stone is called an exsphere. They basically just enhance your natural abilities, but mine is... a little special. Sheena has one too, they're not too uncommon in my world, but mine is one of the few that uh, came with other powers. Like the wings."

Well, Lloyd's still got his back to Zelos, and he looks--sounds--like maybe that was too far, so the Aegis at least has the decency to feel embarrassed by everything he's just done. Honestly, it's not like he needed to get handsy since he could easily just have felt the ether move around in the air around Lloyd, even if it was easier to just feel it underneath his skin, and he doesn't know why he did that so easily in the first place, but. Whatever! Better not think of it, or about the way his face is now glowing ever so slightly.

Fuck this, man. If the Architect turns out to be real Zelos is gonna kick his ass for this stupid-ass biology blades have.

Alright, let's just focus on the present now. Zelos clears his throat and looks off to the side, trying to think about all this new information instead of the whole mess surrounding it. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay. Exspheres definitely do sound a lot like core crystals, but Zelos has never heard of a blade acquiring ether wings through their core crystal anyway. Still, he's never seen an exsphere on Sheena, but when he thinks of the way her mana feels like in their link Zelos wonders, for a moment, if she's simply been hiding it somewhere. It's worth checking later, at least.

For now Zelos aims for a chuckle to break the silence and the tension. "Sounds like a glorified blade eater to me," he jokes, shoving his hair over his shoulder for no reason. Unsatisfied, he grabs a lock of red hair and starts playing with it between his fingers. "Well, whatever. I guess as long as you know your limits and everything then there's nothing to worry about. Just don't summon them until your ether channels are healed," he adds, sneaking a glance at Lloyd. "When we say that humans weren't built to handle ether the way a blade can, we mean it."

He glances up at the moons again and hums. It's getting late, and Sheena's closed off her side of the emotional link again. She's doing something and it's both worrying and getting on Zelos' nerves, so maybe they should finish up here already. "Anyway, it's getting late," Zelos repeats his statement aloud for Lloyd to hear. "We should finish up before half the camp worries themselves stupid because we've been gone too long or something."

Eyes shut, Lloyd counts to three and before exhaling deeply, mustering up the courage to turn around and face Zelos, smile wide on his face and mind composed enough to not make a total fool of himself. He opens his eyes as he turns on his heel, about to respond to Zelos' comments, but the words fall back into his throat as he catches sight of Zelos' blush, mouth gaping slightly before he shakes himself back to attention, swallowing back the surge of affection that threatens to make itself known. What Zelos just did was - awkward, and chances are he's realizing it now, but. The glowing flush of his cheeks awes Lloyd, so cute and eye-catching that he can barely bring himself to look away. God, Zelos is adorable.

Lloyd bites the inside of his cheek, attempting to stop the dopey smile that wants to fit itself on his face again, and, shoving his hands inside his pockets, nods along with Zelos' observations, eyes averted to the ground so he doesn't stare. "I'll be careful. I don't plan on using the wings or anything again soon if I don't have to, so don't sweat it."

He lifts his head up when Zelos suggests finishing their walk, and Lloyd nods again. "That tracks. I think Malos was about ready to start a search party when I took a nap a little too far from camp that one time, so," he shrugs, throwing on a playful grin, "don't want to set off grandpa blade again."

Stepping forward, he holds out an arm in the direction of the camp and directs his beam at Zelos. "After you!" Lloyd says, ignoring how his heart thumps hard in his chest, how Zelos' glow calls at Lloyd's attention, and how he can feel himself blushing again the more he thinks about it. He's a disaster with a hopeless crush, but no need to make things weird.

Edited 2019-07-24 16:20 (UTC)

The comment about Malos earns Lloyd an amused yet slightly fond laugh out of Zelos. Honestly, that guy really is something else, all things considered. And if he's that easily worried by Lloyd then Zelos doesn't want to find out how bad things will get if he's worried about Lloyd and the Aegis being gone for a long time.

One look at Lloyd under the moonlight reveals that he's still blushing, and now Zelos is feeling bad on top of awkward for what he did, and. Architect, glow blushing is lame, so he's just gonna give him a smooth smile and walk onwards to camp. Confound this 'trying to be a good person after you've lashed out like ten times in two weeks' thing, it's confusing and weird and Zelos still can't quite get it right. Like, ugh. And they didn't even complete their perimeter check, either, so distracted with the carving and then everything else as they were.

Wait. The carving.

He'd put the carving in his jacket's pocket before he started feeling for Lloyd's ether signal earlier. Suddenly remembering its weight against his hip the Aegis goes fish it out and gently throws it up in the air, catching it with one hand as he walks. "Anyway," he turns his head and gives Lloyd a grin, then, waving the miniature sword around for him to see, "you still gotta drill a hole in this thing. I wanna hang it off my belt."

Lloyd can't control his smile as he watches Zelos play with the carving, incredibly relieved that he not only likes it but also touched that he wants to keep it on him, like an accessory or something. Really, Lloyd had only expected a smart comment or two and then to never see it again, the carving shoved into Zelos' pack forever. But that's not what happened, and Lloyd's quietly pleased by it, even if the sheer realization of that is enough to make him mentally shove his face into his hands and groan. What happened? He had been doing alright with this crush for a bit, and then Zelos touched him and was all cute and left Lloyd's mind in disarray, thoughts about Zelos bumping and colliding in his head until he's all Lloyd can think of. This is so unfair.

"Okay!" Lloyd exclaims, with a desperate need to hide his face from Zelos. As the Aegis tosses the carving into the air once again, Lloyd lurches forward, grabbing it before it hits Zelos' hand, and takes off in a sprint. "Race you back to the campsite!" He yells out behind him, narrowly avoiding tripping on a tree root, giggling as he runs, finally allowing the dorky grin that he's been fighting back with a stick to settle on his face. By the time he makes it past the cover of trees and back into the campsite, he's red-faced and out of breath, clutching the carving to his chest as he skids to a stop, laughing aloud. Zelos hasn't caught up yet, but Lloyd's sure he'll be there soon, so he plops down on the ground and finally buries his face in his hands, beaming.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lloyd and Zelos' Arts and Crafts Corner

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Lloyd no dying in my arts and crafts store

he's trying very hard Not to die but i can't guarantee he's succeeding

ARE YOU WINNING, SON?

HE IS NOT BUT ITS FINE

Tfw Zelos is worried

i'm so soft and gay thank you

Sorry this is long he kinda needed to Sherlock Holmes this

no its fine youve brought me Endless amusement at the muse's expense

Sorry Lloyd if this looked gay to the viewers

don't apologize i am so glad for all of this

I can't believe this

i can, they're absolute disasters