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[adelphoi]

Alisaie Leveilleur. Leave a message.

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[adelphoi]

[ wow gross??

alisaie scoffs softly. ]

How convenient for us.

[ that astoria is powerful has already been well established, but to have emotions that can inadvertently control the weather?? good lord. nevertheless, prompto does not deserve to be the displaced target of her frustration; count to ten, alisaie.. ]

Did she tell you anything else of import?

[punshots]

[ ...On second thought, yeah, bringing up Astoria was a bad idea. Of course Alisaie would ask this—she's sharp and focused and interested in learning what she can about this world and the one who brought them here. They have certainly talked about other things...but...

Man, he's terrible at this. What does he want here? He can practically hear Aranea's voice echoing in his thoughts, asking him this same question. He was supposed to be getting better at this, at opening up and being honest about his feelings, but this is all so sudden and unfamiliar and new and Alisaie is the closest thing he has to a friend here, outside of those from Eos. He doesn't want to...mess this up. What if he scares her off, the moment she realizes just how anxious and worried he is all the time?

Is it worth the risk? ]

She...asked about El Minha. I...tried contacting her while we were there, too, but...nothin' but static. Guess she was out of range...heh.

[adelphoi]

[ meanwhile, during prompto's inner turmoil, alisaie is busy being irritated. it isn't prompto's fault, and honestly, she's glad that he is able to give her at least a little bit of news, but it's difficult for her not to be aggravated by the very mention of astoria, and alisaie is.. not really very good at concealing her feelings. ]

Considering she can pop around to other worlds to snatch people from their business, I highly doubt she could be "out of range."

[ seems fake, tbh.

but alisaie soon sighs, and attempts to smooth her hackles. jumpy as he seems to be, she should not vent her spleen at him right now. ]

Anyroad, how have you been? I trust your journey back was as uneventful as mine.

[punshots]

[ That's...fair, though Prompto isn't wholly convinced Astoria can pop in and out of worlds. She can just reach into them somehow, maybe. But he's learned better than to argue over Astoria's virtues (or lack thereof) with Alisaie. ]

Eh...can't complain. I got to leave El Minha with a few souvenirs and a bunch of batteries for my camera, so I made out petty well! Aaand I got this thing.

[ Ah, why didn't he think to show her this sooner? It's good and distracting! Prompto reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small metal cube, holding it aloft in his hand for her to see.

It sure is...a metal cube. ]

Check it!

[adelphoi]

[ hey look, it's a metal cube.

alisaie's brow creases, and she gazes into his palm, bewildered. is this some weird eos thing, too? is she supposed to be excited?? ]

Check what?

[ what does he want her to check it for?? ]

[punshots]

[ She might not be excited yet, but just wait! Prompto waves a hand as if to reassure her, tossing the metal cube up and down in his hand. ]

Think of something and tell me. Anything. Er—as long as it's not alive.

[adelphoi]

.. anything?

[ anything not alive?? does that.. count plants, too?? help, she has option paralysis!! tapping her chin, alisaie frowns thoughtfully. ]

A.. stuffed moogle? A spoon? A pillow?

[ an unladen swallow?? ]

[punshots]

[ He's going to go with a stuffed moogle, because a spoon and a pillow are kinda boring!! No offense, Alisaie. Plus, moogles are cute. Prompto holds up a finger and stops in place, turning to face her. ]

One stuffed moogle, comin' right up! Feast your eyes—

[ Prompto lets the moment linger, to drum up the dramatics, of course, before he concentrates hard on the little metal cube. It begins to shift and pull, the metallic surface giving way to soft, plush fabric and a mix of colors. As it comes to a rest once more, Prompto is now holding a stuffed moogle in his hand—although it is still fairly small. He only has so much surface area to work with!

Holding it out to her with both hands, he beams over the crown of the doll's head at her. ]

Just call me a genie, gurl, 'cause your wish has been granted! [ ... ] You don't...really have to call me a genie. But how cool is that?! Ten out of ten, right? A real showstopper!

[ Shockingly, he's thrilled. ]

[adelphoi]

[ wow. that's actually.. kind of impressive.

i mean, it's a very small stuffed moogle, but still. alisaie gapes for a few moments before - carefully, like the thing might explode - lifting the little plush from his offered hands. but no, it doesn't explode, it just stays there, being a stuffed moogle. amazing. ]

That's.. but how?

[ what is this black magic?? ]

[punshots]

[ Yeah, it's probably cursed by the spirit of some vengeful ghost, but Prompto just thinks it's a cool as heck knick-knack. Plus, it might really come in handy sometime! Like, when he needs a toothpick or something, and can't find one.

Real handy, yep. ]

One of the merchants from El Minha gave it to me. I was runnin' a lot of favors for him, so...I guess he wanted to pay me back somehow! Sure beats a box full of rubber ducks, anyway...

[ In her hands, the stuffed moogle changes again, taking on the form of a bright, happy rubber duck. ]

[adelphoi]

[ i mean... that would make his dentist happy? i guess?

she jumps a little in surprise when the cube changes shape again, but her smile at its end result is no less pleased. ]

Oh, I don't know. The ducks were very charming.

[ she still has hers.. ]

[punshots]

[ Her reaction brings a genuine smile quickly to his lips, and a slight blush to his cheeks. He's still a little embarrassed that he got hustled so badly, but if she really liked it...maybe it wasn't such a bad deal after all. ]

Yeah? Y-you think so? [ He lifts a hand to the back of his neck. ] Heh...I brought a few back with me. Managed to get rid of most of 'em so Gladio wouldn't have a fit, but...I couldn't just throw the others away!

[ It would've been wasteful! So now Prompto is surreptitiously hiding several rubber ducks beneath his mattress. It's fine. ]

[adelphoi]

[ i really hope they squeak if he rolls over too hard..

but she laughs lightly, even as she hands it back to him. ]

Has he some quarrel with a rubber duck?

[punshots]

[ He takes back the duck, and as he does so, it reforms again, taking on the shape of a ball this time so Prompto can toss it up and down in the air, giving his hands something to do. They may have veered away from talking about what's troubling him, but he's still a little anxious, and the preoccupation helps. ]

More like he has some quarrel with fun! [ Okay, no, that's a little harsh. He rolls a shoulder. ] Nah, he just thought they'd take up unnecessary space. Sooo I put them somewhere he'll never find 'em!

[ ...They will definitely squeak if he rolls over too hard. ]

[adelphoi]

[ gladio didn't seem particularly un-fun to her when she had met him, but to be fair, anyone would seem un-fun next to someone like prompto. he's so.. energetic. ]

Did you put them under your bed?

[ or in a closet - she's definitely getting a mental image of gladio opening the closet door only to be drowned by an avalanche of rubber ducks.. ]

[punshots]

[ As amusing as that would be (and Prompto would snap a picture of that so fast), no, her first guess was correct, and Prompto looks to her quickly, bewildered, nearly dropping his ball. ]

Y-yeah, that's exactly what I did! How'd you know?

[adelphoi]

[ okay she can't help but burst out laughing, at both the astonished look on his face, and the fact that he is astonished at all. ]

Because I am able to read your mind, of course.

[punshots]

You can?!

[ ...Wait a second, no she can't, that's not her power!! He saw her turn into all those silly (and scary) creatures, she can't fool him!

So with a chuckle, he reaches out a fist to knock playfully against her shoulder. ]

Hey! I see how it is! Tryin' to pull my leg, huh? You're just a good guesser.

[adelphoi]

[ that brief moment where he actually believes her is so, so good, and so worth it. she hadn't expected him to fall for it at all, really.. clearly she gave him far too much credit.

unable to bite it back any longer, alisaie laughs. ]

Honestly Prompto, anyone could have guessed that. Under the bed is the first place anyone thinks to hide anything.

[punshots]

[ This sass!! But okay, maybe she has a point, and it's easy enough for him to laugh at himself, too, so he laughs right alongside her. It's a pleasant sound, their laughter ringing together. ]

If you wanna get technical, they're not under my bed, but under my mattress. Much harder to spot that way.

[adelphoi]

Under your mattress? Is that not uncomfortable? How many of them?

[ prompto is so fussy she would expect this to be like a princess and the pea situation tbh.. ]

[punshots]

[ He shakes his head. ]

Not that many, honest! Only like...three or four. I managed to get rid of most of 'em back in El Minha. Kids loved 'em!

[ And some cute girls, too, but Prompto omits that part. ]

[adelphoi]

[ oh, that's too bad.. she was really enjoying the mental image of prompto sleeping on a suspiciously lumpy mattress that squeaked with every movement. stop ruining her comedic imaginings, prompto!! ]

I am sure they did. How sweet of you to give them away.

[ wow stop giving things to cute girls!! betrayal.. ]

[punshots]

[ Maybe if she hadn't given him a concussion by chasing him while a spider... ]

Heh...who needs that many rubber ducks, anyway?

[ Maybe he should give one to Astoria. :)

They come to a ridge alongside the forest where a stream runs below, and Prompto shuffles to a stop, glancing off into the trees. ]

Wonder how big this world is...you reckon if we went through the forest, we'd just wind up on the other side of the temple?

[adelphoi]

[ that is completely irrelevant!!

the truly amazing thing here is that we managed to do this entire thread without typoing "rubber dicks." admittedly, "rubber fucks" almost happened but i caught it in time. ]

I would not be surprised; I've yet to reach any sort of edge to it.

[ she stops beside him when he does, peering down at the stream; maybe she could talk him into a swim.. but she's got the feeling that he is still withholding, that there are words behind his teeth that he just won't allow to pass. ]