FALL CATCH-ALL

[chronosynthesis]

WHO: Syrlya and You (Closed Prompts)
WHAT: The Fall Catch-All
WHEN: All Fall Baby
WHERE: Wherever we need (on the island or a boat)
WARNINGS: NSFW marked below

((Plan With Me: Plot Comment #1 | EVENT ONE OPEN POST))

Comments

[chronosynthesis]

[Without lifting his face from the couch:] I would say 'a drink' but that's what got me in this state to begin with.

[He probably can't kill an alcohol headache with more alcohol... tempting as it is to try.] That damn auction. No one outbid me on Adelis?

[Given how his morning has gone, getting stuck on a date with someone he can't tolerate is the last thing Adelis needs.]

[passthrough]

[Ahhhh, the good old hangover. Well, he can't say he's surprised. Syrlya's shoulder gets another firm rub in acknowledgement before Otegine can be heard moving away from the couch.]

Nope. I stayed until everything wrapped up. You definitely won that one.

I'll get you some water. Tea, too, alright? I think I found a good green one the other day. Ah... too bad we don't have plums yet. Some of the others would swear by umeboshi.

[The cupboard opens with the quiet rustle of ceramics and metal, the careful rush of the tap into the sink.]

I'm guessing neither of you swung by to take a look at the results yourself?

[chronosynthesis]

[He lets out a sigh of relief. Oh, thank goodness.]

No, I came straight here once... well, once Adelis was ready to be left alone. [That's the gentlest way to put it.

Tea, though... any sort of hydration sounds good at this point, though he's yet to get up from the couch.]

[passthrough]

I'm glad the two of you had company. I won't lie, Syr, I was worried about both of you all night.

[He gently sets the kettle up, filling an extra glass with water and crossing the space, this time kneeling in front of the couch. No giving breakable objects to the tree until he knows he's steady enough for it.]

Do you want good news or bad news about the rest of the auction?

[chronosynthesis]

[...

Syrlya lets out a long, agonized sigh.] You might as well start with the bad news. Can't imagine things are much worse than I am expecting.

[passthrough]

[He taps Syr's shoulder gently with the bottom of the glass. Water first, my dude.]

Maybe not quite as bad, but... you deserve not to get any more nasty surprises.

Let me make sure you're not gonna pass out on me first, though. Fair enough?

[chronosynthesis]

[All right, all right. Syrlya grips the couch and pushes himself up onto a sitting position. He looks fine, just exhausted, and there's some blood smeared on his lips--not his, clearly, given it's red.

He takes the glass of water, and a quick sip.] I'm all right, Otegine.

[passthrough]

You're... bleeding? Your mouth, Syr...

[He doesn't reach out to correct it, but his brow does tighten pretty instantly, a tap of his hand against his mouth to show Syrlya where he means. The fuck happened to you, man...?]

[chronosynthesis]

Huh? [Syrlya reached to wipe at the blood--with a loved finger that, as it turns out, is also stained with it. He stares at his thumb.] Oh! No, this isn't my blood, I don't--I don't bleed like this.

[passthrough]

[But it's still... definitely somebody's blood, given how Syrla puts it. Uhhh.

Okay, well, since he knows Syrlya isn't going anywhere anytime soon, he can at least finish rubbing his own hand over his face in alarm and just go fetch a washcloth.]

Geez, Syr, are... you sure Adelis is okay?? [Hollered on his way to the bathroom. He is clumsily multitasking his way through life right now, it's fine.]

I don't mean to change the subject on you or anything, but -- what, did you guys just spar with live steel or something this morning? That's all still pretty red.

[chronosynthesis]

[Ahem. Syrlya averts his gaze to the side as a faint gold blush creeps on his cheeks.] We didn't spar and Adelis is--as okay as he can be. But it isn't my place to talk about. He isn't dying.

[Well, because he's already undead now. It's fine. Anyway, he's going to chug this glass of water.]

[passthrough]

[Hm. What else could make somebody bleed like that outside combat or murder? Will the mysteries never cease?

Suffice to say, that thought just gets shrugged off right then and there. Congrats, Syr, you're safe.

Otegine's back with a wetted cloth soon enough, plopping down to a seat next to him on the couch.]

Here. Maybe you can wash up a little more when you've got some strength back.

[...]

Anyway. The bad news is mostly just... who actually won your application. [A hand goes up, briefly.] It's not Trahearne. He kept his word on that much.

[Sort of.]

[chronosynthesis]

[The less Otegine knows about what goes on between Syrlya and Adelis, the happier everyone is.

Syrlya takes the washcloth to wipe his mouth, but stops halfway as Otegine speaks.] ... Who was it?

[That he can't even say it immediately fills Syrlya with dread before he can even start going down the list of people he would not want to date.]

[passthrough]

Mishka.

[So like... not the absolute nuclear option, but GIVEN THE PREVIOUS DAY? Aaaaaaaaa.]

I didn't have time to step in and take it myself. He came in pretty close to the end...

[Well, and Otegine had Trahearne at that point. And having both of them together felt like the worst idea possible.]

[chronosynthesis]

Mishka? [It actually is worse than he was anticipating!] Why?!

[passthrough]

He tried to ask me on a date in the middle of all that mess, Syr, how am I supposed to know what in the world he's thinking???

[People are already confusing... why is Mishka just a big ball of Extra...]

He dropped a huge bid on somebody else, too, right at the last second. And then just... left after that. None of you were there, so I don't get what he was trying to accomplish.

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya falls back against the couch with a groan.] Wonderful. I can't imagine Adelis will be any more pleased about that than I am.

[Ugh, he did agree to a date with Mishka but that was before he broke Adelis' heart!!]

[passthrough]

Probably not. I wouldn't blame either of you at this point.

At least there's some good news, though. Uhh, hold on, it was in the mail--

[Let him go grab that real quick, thank god they have a table now. When he plops back down onto the couch, he's got a bunch of cruise paperwork, including several tickets that he holds up.]

These showed up today, for the auction results. Two for me, and two for you.

I won two bids, and, uh... well, someone won mine, too. [Good thing you weren't here earlier, Syr. :)] But I definitely didn't get three.

My guess is that... maybe we don't have to do all of these at the same time? The boat looks like it's gonna be here for the whole week.

[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya rolls his head against the back of the couch to look at the tickets before taking them.]

If I won Adelis, there is absolutely no way that I can go with both him and Mishka at the same time. Hopefully two tickets means I can schedule them separately...

[If he can resist the urge to just kick Mishka's ass.]

[passthrough]

I'd say maybe you could conveniently misplace the ticket, but, uh... I wouldn't trust the goddess to not retaliate something like that.

[A beat, and he just awkwardly claps a hand against his shoulder. That's rough, buddy.]

Sorry.

[chronosynthesis]

[Otegine is right about that. She is quite aggressive in her demands.

He glances to him.] So? Who have you won a romantic affair with?

[passthrough]

[Oh dear.

He goes quiet for a long moment. Opens his mouth, closes it, goes a little red out of some unreadable mix between embarrassment and odd frustration, and then just.... slowly puts his face in his hands.

Muffled:]

It's... complicated.

[chronosynthesis]

[...

Syrlya lifts his head, raising a brow.] Complicated?

[passthrough]

[He just nods.]

I, uh... I got Pyra.

[Which he is very, very happy about, and he can't help the smile in his tone despite how tired he is. He just has to think about how to explain the rest...]

Trahearne and I talked for a while after you left. And just to keep him from ending up in more hot water, I... bid on him, too. Just... you know, as someone that he doesn't feel obligation to get connected to. And I, uh. I won that one, too.

[chronosynthesis]

That's kind of you. [He says it dully.] I would have left him to suffer with whatever awkward date he was sold to, since he felt the need to put me up to it.

[So he's still a little salty.]