daemonized | RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

[it's a usual day in their house, getting up, getting ready for the morning, Grell rising later than Ardyn and heading towards the bathroom to get dressed and ready...

except for the part where, loud and as heartbroken as could be, a cry rings out]

No! Absolutely not!

[she's gone and locked the door by now to keep herself in.]

[Well that's not good. It's enough to make Ardyn hurry back to the bathroom door, obviously concerned after hearing a cry like that. What was it? Was she hurt? Absolutely not what?]

Grell? [He calls to the door, leaning in. He's frowning.]

Are you all right?

[He feels like it's enough to warrant him trying to open the door, but it's locked, which doesn't do much to make him feel better about what's happening.]

No!

[oh, she'll never forgive Retrospec. ever. she will die in this bathroom and the sadness will lessen.]

It's awful! They went and changed me and it's utterly wrong!

[Changes? Oh, his frown deepens at that, because it feels as if their lives have been riddled with changes and strange abilities non-stop at this point.

He tries the handle again, but obviously to no avail.]

Let me in, and show me what they've done to you.

[He is worried, honestly, given the tone of her voice. He wonders if he can coax her out.]

I can't. It's not something I want to show.

[there's almost despair in her voice.]

They've made me less. I'm not the same as I was - bereft of elegance, now.

[Ardyn is practically leaning into the door, as if that would help persuade her to open it. The stubbornness and almost-sorrow in her tone isn't promising.]

I find that very difficult to believe, my dear. Come now, you can't stay in there for the rest of your days.

[yes she can, she thinks stubbornly, and there's quiet from the other side of the door, quiet as she contemplates how fast she could die in here. but then her corpse would betray her.]

...It's not cute.

[not beautiful, the way she wanted it, and it lodges under her skin like a furious wrong. she hates it.]

[He wonders what could be such a dramatic change thrust upon her; he also wonders how on earth she could believe that he would view her any differently even if it was.

One more attempt before he'll cheat by using his nauseating magic to move through the door.]

Perhaps you should let me be the judge of that?

[slowly, he'll hear the door unlock, and she's definitely near it.]

It's just fair warning. And it's all their fault.

[she slowly peeks around the door, and then opens it - she can't hide from Ardyn forever - and the change is obvious. that she's changed like he did, gaining tone and muscle on her body, different than before, very much so. she crosses her arms in front of her, looking away like she's ashamed.]

Be honest.

[He isn't sure what he was to expect, but when the door swings away to reveal her form properly, he cannot help his eyes from sweeping Grell, head to toe. He's surprised -- but there's nothing on his face that betrays disgust or shame. He furrows his brow, knowing that this is a serious issue (for the same thing had happened to him) but the truth of the matter is...

Wow. Just wow. Did she think this was less attractive? He feels the laughable sensation of his heart skipping a beat, because Ardyn is definitely of the opposite opinion.

(Don't stare too much, he tells himself.)]

They've done to you what they did to me. But you needn't look so ashamed, Grell. I think it...

[Careful about how he words this, some little whisper in the back of his mind tells him. Careful, careful.]

I... ah. It's... nice.

[So eloquent. (So distracted.)]

...You're staring.

[she can tell. and she isn't sure why, but he is, and she doesn't mind it. him looking is better than him recoiling.]

You really think it's nice? Not...less beautiful?

[He's called out, and accurately at that. But all he does is set his jaw, trying to not be so obvious about it; though honestly, he didn't think he was really being obvious at all. She's learned to read him all too easily.]

It's not less beautiful at all. [This comes without any hesitation.] I didn't know it was possible, but I think I may actually be even more attracted to you now than I was before.

[And that's plainly the truth of the matter, as impossible as it might be to imagine that his threshold of Being Attracted to Grell could raise any higher.]

So please don't let that be a concern of yours. Instead, worry yourself with how your body feels. Nothing strange, I hope? No pain, no discomfort?

None. Just...the effortless change. The mental discomfort, the way I'm unused to this.

[though her arms aren't less protective, she does look at him, searching for the truth of his attraction soaring higher in the face of this change. curious indeed. she hadn't known that gaining musclecwould affect him so.]

[Is it so surprising? He thinks that it does not detract from her beauty, or her “cuteness”, as she would put it, but instead adds a sense of strength and able-bodiedness that only accentuates these merits of hers further. He can’t help it — it’s distractingly more attractive, though perhaps his nigh-bewilderment is mostly due to how he hadn’t expected it at all.]

Then perhaps you should see it as a blessing. Find the optimism in the situation, much like you urged me to do when I was met with my own changes.

[He steps forward, leaning in to add a bit of levity to this. Not because he wanted to stand closer or anything, no.]

Besides, now you too can left heavy objects, much like myself.

I suppose that is a benefit, if I can now lift you.

[she says it, and finally unfolds her arms to put her hands on his hips.]

Could try it out, see how far I could carry you, listen to you tell me thst this doesn't change me in a bad way. That wouldn't be too unbearable.

[He grins down at her, eager to allow themselves both to enjoy the inanity of the suggestion, if only to calm her mind about these changes. And so he gestures with both arms, as if to invite the idea upon him.]

You could try. Maybe you're even stronger than me now, who's to say? Your power over me would be complete, indeed.

[Not that he expects to be picked up, only to be embraced by her in the attempt.]

[her arms wrap around him, and she can pull him a few inches off the ground before she has to set him down, though she doesn't pull away.]

I can't say I can overpower you completely, yet. You still might be stronger that me, even with these new changes.

[Ah, those few inches are impressive in their own right, but he just laughs. When his feet touch the ground again, he just decides to wrap his arms around her and pull her close -- taking advantage of the situation.]

Then I still have somewhat of the advantage yet. Who knows how mad with control you'd be if you could overpower me. The things you could do.

You could never give it up entirely. Not as long as you are yourself. There are still things I'm weak to - you being one.

[close like this, she can almost forget where she is, her distress at the changes softening.]

If you approve, I might be able to live like this. Though I'm not happy with it.

And why aren't you?

[A hand slides up to her forearm, where there's more muscle and strength there than before.]

Your new state makes you more brilliant than before, far more striking. Who knew that perfection itself could be improved upon? And yet here I stand, gazing upon proof of such.

[always weak to his compliments, always more inclined to show off if he was staring. it makes her frown less, if not restored to smiles.]

They did as much to me as they did to you, us both knowing we were fighters. It feels almost like a mirror of that day.

[minus the extra hour and so much teasing.]

The difference is where a man can show himself off, a woman is inclined to keep all this to herself. To take less pride in it.

[And the gesture he makes here is utterly dismissive.]

Kept all to herself for whose benefit? Certainly not her own.

[Easier said than done, perhaps, for a man like Ardyn. Someone who could not care less for the opinion of others, or at least does not skew his inclinations to meet their expectations.

Still, she knows this about him, so it should come as little surprise. But he smile he offers her after this is fond.]

Be indignant that Retrospec would change you, but do not be ashamed of it. [A bit more mischievously, something that should definitely remind her of the last time this happened:] But... if you do wish to call off of work today and stay home, I'll not fault you for it. I could do the same and have you all to myself then.

[oh, she knows that expression. last time she had told him no, made him go to work and wait, and the temptation to do the same again is strong. but equally so is the wish to hear him keep saying sweet things, mending over the break in her self image that way. in some ways, it is remarkably simple to deal with her.]

Would you? Would you stay with me and comfort me through these changes? I wouldn't simply be an excuse for you to take a day away?

[she can be persuaded, but she was considering staying home to sulk anyway.]

[Perhaps it's only remarkably easy because flattering her is his default. Though it's not so much flattery as it is the truth, spoken how he sees it. Just as beautiful as before, changes or not.]

Of course I would.

[Does that sound like she's actually considering it this time around? That would be a departure from the last time, but he'll certainly not complain.]

What kind of fool would I be, to allow anything else on this planet to be more important than my beautiful fiancé?

A sensible one, when there's prior obligations in the way.

[still, she hasn't moved away yet to try and continue getting ready.]

Perhaps with you I could begin to see the truth of such beauty.

RECOLLE IC CONTACT.

11/17

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