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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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.

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Lloyd and Zelos' Arts and Crafts Corner

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