daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

Very well. Consider me stolen. I'll be there shortly.

[And Ardyn keeps true to his word. It won't be long before there's a knock at her apartment door, and when she opens it to greet him, there stands Ardyn. The sharper edges of exhaustion have mostly worn down, though by no means is it completely gone.]

I thought we may never have a day to ourselves again.

[in response, she kisses him hello, shutting the door. she hasn't fully recovered, but going to bed early helped a lot. that, and being able to sleep in and then have this day.]

Hence the stealing. Now it would take some very strong forces indeed to pry me away from you.

[The kiss is returned, and when he steps in, the smile on his features may be tired, but it's still very Ardyn. It'll take more than a month of riddles and monster fighting to tear that away from him completely.]

And equally strong forces to convince me to leave.

[He'll make his way into the living room, remarking as he goes.]

The sort that doesn't exist in this universe, I assure you.

Not in the entire universe? Then everything was rather foolish to try with such paltry efforts to keep us apart.

[now they have time. now she can come with him, stretching her arms above her head as she does.]

There's nothing I have to absolutely get done today, so I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie. Or I could bake - I've missed the opportunity to do so.

[Not in the entire universe, he's fairly certain of it. Silly thought that it is, but such musings come more readily to him when he's still in a recovering state of being too tired. But he thinks it's a fair enough assumption; with all that's happened with Recolle recently, at least one thing has remained the same, one thing that he can always retreat back to when and if he needs it: her.

He's shrugging off whatever top layer he's chosen to adorn himself with today (plain black jacket) and folding it relatively neatly before tossing it on the arm of the couch. His usual underpinning of amusement lines his words.]

Or we could fit both into the day. I am completely and utterly at your disposal, because I did mean it when I said I had nothing planned. What sort of movie did you have in mind?

You can choose what you like from my collection, if any catch your eye.

[she has them in a small cabinet, and they've become easier to watch now that colors are coming back into the world. though there's some others mixed in, overwhelmingly they're either period pieces or various types of horror. but is he really surprised by her tastes at this point.]

But both sounds even better.

Both it is.

[He will still cross over to that cabinet and take a look, eying the spine of each film. It's impossible not to miss the prevalence of period pieces and horror, a contrast which he finds amusing but not at all surprising. Still, don't think he won't remark about it.]

So, you're either a hopeless romantic, or you enjoy being terrified. Which is it?

[An oversimplification, he knows, because period pieces do not always equate to romance even if it's a common theming. Nor is horror always about scaring the audience. Ardyn teases as he is prone to doing, even though it's brimming with fondness.

In the end, he does end up picking one. He plucks it from the cabinet, showing it to her. It's horror -- the sort where the monster represents some terrible part of the psyche, some commentary on the human condition, no doubt. He's seen it before, but he doesn't mind seeing it again.]

How's this one, for a movie selection?

Excellent. I'll even try and keep my commentary locked away so you can enjoy it without me whispering how on earth someone can be standing after getting injuries like that.

[a good horror film was one that captured her so much she forgot to think about all that. this one doesn't entirely pass the bar, but she's willing to shut up for the sake of the experience. she goes to busy herself with setting the movie up, figuring that if he needs or wants anything, he'll ask.]

[He seems to chuckle at that notion.]

And why would I not want to listen to your commentary? If you're worried about breaking immersion, then I should tell you that I've seen it before.

[Making silly commentary is half of the fun after all.]

Before we start, however, I was wondering if you wanted to discuss a few of the memories we might've experienced lately.

Why not. You start this time, since they must be weighing on your mind.

[going over to the couch, she sits down - the movie will wait. these, she wants to give her full attention to.]

What have you remembered, lately?

[He shifts to face her properly as he speaks.]

We can take turns, but yes, I'll start.

[His grin is still there because, well. This one is a bit ridiculous.]

I remember another monster. A small green cactus with arms and legs, and a little face to give it expression. Zipping around and shooting needles at unfortunate passerbys.

A very irritable thing, it sounds like. And yet I can't help but think it might be cute, in the right light.

[but she's smiling too, imagining it.]

Did you meet one, in your recollections? I can't imagine that wouldn't be a prickly situation.

[Grell, don't start with the puns or you might regret what you've done.]

A prickly situation requiring the sharpest mind to escape from.

[See. Terrible.]

I don't remember interacting with one, no. Only that they did exist in whatever world the other me lived in, and that one would not ever wish to face one without serious consideration.

It seems that the knowledge you got was quick about getting to the point of their danger.

[absolutely terrible.]

I do wish I could see what their faces looked like. When did you remember them?

[Of course, he just appears amused at these terrible, awful puns that they shouldn't be indulging themselves in. Ardyn shrugs a little; he knows exactly when he remembered them, but so much has happened since then that it feels so far away now.]

These new memories began prickling at the edges of my mind during the first week of August. When our world had just started to be turned upside-down.

[Give him a moment, though, to reach over to where he placed his jacket, digging into the inside pocket. Out comes a little slip of plain white paper, with a pen doodle of the cactus creature on it. He hands it to her -- it's simple, but... cute. And if she thinks it's silly that he took the time to realize its image on paper, well. He's done so with every single monster and daemon he's remembered so far, for reference's sake.]

It's called a "cactuar".

[Ardyn even shows it shooting out little needles. And look at that goofy expression on its face.]

[it's hardly silly, she thinks. it's smart, to have a representation just in case one might forget. she smiles to think of it - from a distance, it might look rather innocent. it's cute, even though it's deadly.]

A cactuar...I'd call it fearsome but just look at its face! I can't be afraid of it. Even if it was trying to fill me with needles. For something that's supposed to be like a monster, it doesn't seem too bad.

[Even if it tries to fill her with needles, she says. Ardyn raises a brow, and though he knows that she's joking, he's really not sure what to do with that mental image he's presented with.]

Regardless, if you're ever faced with one, do take my advice and run the other way. It'd rather not have to spend the entire afternoon picking needles out of you, Grell.

[Though... he would. If he had too. Such is the power of love.]

Alright, alright. I promise I won't hang around long enough for them to fire at will.

[she'd not like to have to sit and pull out so many needles out of herself - though that he'd help is sweet.]

What else have you gone and remembered?

Good. That's a promise I'll hold you to.

[Though to be fair, it'd be hard for him to immediately turn away from one, too. Cactuars are cute little creatures, though he'd not say it so directly unless asked.]

Which would you like to hear about? A man or a tune?

A tune, then a man. I haven't had the fortune to recall music.

[she gives him back the picture of the cactuar so that he can keep it safe.]

[He takes the picture back, little scribbled thing that it is, and puts it back in his coat pocket. It'll be safe there for the rest of day, or evening, or until tomorrow -- however long his visit ends up being.]

It's less a full song than it is a jingle. Count your blessings, because you know the limitations of my singing talents.

[She will probably never forget his once instance of serenading with Take On Me.

But in any case, he clears his throat as if this is something that even requires clearing his throat for. And then-]

Dum-dum-dum duuum dah-dah dum-da-duuum.

[It's the FF victory theme, just let him live.]

[how could she ever forget that serenade, it was a highlight of the night. not too terrible, except for the fact that she'll never ask Ardyn to hit a high note again ever in her life.

okay, she can't help herself from chuckling some. that's going to be stuck in her head all day and night now.]

It's catchy, at least. What was it for?

[Don't tell him that, Grell, or he will purposefully pick Kiss by Prince to serenade her with next.

At any rate, he's glad it's afforded her some amusement.]

It's a tune that one hums after a victory. A battle, perhaps, or something like it. That's all I can gather from what I've remembered, which is admittedly not very much at all.

Strange, but I think I like it. It's a brief little way to celebrate your accomplishments.

[and she's filing that information away for some time in the future to definitely hum it after he's accomplished something difficult, just because she can, just because it'll probably make them both laugh.]

[It is strange, but he supposes no stranger than monsters and magic and whatever else his world might have had. An uplifting little victory tune is nothing in the grand scheme of things, and he's had it playing in his head more than once on occasion.]

You may borrow it if you like. [Not that he owns it, per se.] And that's all there really is to that. No memory to go along with me actually singing it, or anyone else. Just a tune, short and sweet.

The last one, the memory about the man -- that one is something to truly wonder about.

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