arcana.

despite the fact this orca is essentially calling her pathetic, she’ll accept help. she’s so hungry. “ my name is zenos. you may have been told. might i have the pleasure of knowing who you are ? “

Laurel holds out her hand, proffering preserved meat for Zenos. Fare meant to tide Laurel over if she wishes a snack, not anything grander, but it's all she's got on her person. "I'm Laurel. Scourge of the north, maneater, so on and so forth. Invent a scary sounding title and someone's probably called me it. It's all a complicated way to say I'm good at my job, anyways, and that's most of what anyone needs to know about me." She's showing off a little bit... it's fine! She already warned Zenos about the pride thing, so this counts....

“ i’m decorating for starlight! i was going to start outside, then do the inside of the house. “ the plan was to surprise both parents - ah well. “ this… wasn’t greatly thought out. can you help me carry some of this back ? “

"I see." Gaius is a bit surprised, he hadn't thought about decor at all yet, and the closeness of holidays comes as something of a shock. Oops. "Of course. I assume you forgot a ladder as well, hm?" He leans to scoop most of her armload into his own. Much easier for her this way. "I can help you decorate, simply direct me. You know as well as anyone that I don't have an eye for aesthetics."

“ leave me ! or kill me, if that’s your plan. i’ve already been caught. “ her voice is… perhaps smaller, now, knowing her game was set by the very man zenos wishes dead. unsurprising, but disappointing. he won’t even hunt her himself. “ i am. i’m sure they called me a traitorous prince. they’ve no grace. “

Then, she abruptly juts forth and sinks her spear into the coral, catching Zenos's chains and freeing them from their catch with a cracking of reef-bone. It's a quick movement, the practiced aim of a hunter. The spear then gets spun and then reattached to its straps at her side, utterly harmless now to all and sundry. Now Laurel just crosses her arms and hovers, analytical, before her cornered mark. "Now, what are you going to do, little scrap? Do you even have the spare energy to find food? Especially with those chains weighing you down. Hm, hm, perhaps I could help you out. 'Lest you run away from me again-- you're in no danger while you don't even have teeth to bite with."

troublesome, though. her green tail swishes. “ you’ve been following me for some time. ‘tis improper to play with food, and I’m toxic besides. “ // @minarcana

She plays with her game, not with her lunches. Laurel stops her curious looping, floating just out of weapons' reach of the other. She cocks her head, gesturing with a loose jab of the spear at her side towards the chains caught around Zenos. "Don't you want that off? If I'm going to hunt you, I'd like it to be a fair competition. You are the runaway from Varis's kingdom, aren't you?"

" Why are you worrying about them. About me? "

"Perhaps you and I may not have been the closest, but I still respect you, and you're still the wife of my dear friend." He smiles, and shrugs. Admittedly, whatever personal relations he may have had with anyone other than maybe Erichthonios are rubble, but the sentiment still remains on Hesperos's end. "I would be remiss if I didn't worry about you."

"I may have brought something back for you." A part of him feels guilty it's a couple of books, but he's positive he didn't recall seeing the tomes in his beloved's vast collection, and he thought they'd make him happy.

"Hehe. I've become greedy in my complacency, perhaps. The gift I demand is the gift of thy time and tales of any interesting happenings unto thee. Thy presence is always welcome, shouldst any of those fail to be available." He smiles with another quiet laugh, soft enough to almost be a hum. His open affection has gotten easier these days, after the journeys and self-assurance, and it's with Thancred that he shows this off most eagerly. "Here I was joking. I accept all that thou offereth with full joy to be considered."

“ my father is dead. i killed him myself. “ she states thickly. it wasn’t laurel’s battle to win. “ he kept us apart. “ yet, here she is, speaking on it to a stranger who reminds her of her favorite person. “ you’re … ker. “

still, though zenos is cracked and bloody, the same thing is true about her own soul, not just as kostas's. emet selch really was... well, ker resists the urge to roll his eyes at the memory of the other. what a bore. "good. as you should have. it is a parent's duty to love their child, and if they fail the the consequences should be theirs to bear." possibly a bit extreme position, but that's not ker's problem. he nods. "i am ker. also called azem, if you have heard aught of those that came before the sunderings. i am the traveler, though now i am simply a wandering dream, gone in the morning no doubt."

"Thank you, my friend," He said softly. "I'm glad to know you're by my side. I couldn't handle being a scion or on the front lines without you, I think. Would have run away after Doma."

Maybe because he's stopped worrying about that happening. They know each other's limits and intents. ...Or something like that. Is that too cliché, Urianger wonders to himself, but he's sufficiently convinced that it's fine as Calem leans against him. He smiles down at the other, reassuring. "Thou mayst always rely upon me to be here. Full glad am I that thou did not disappear after Doma, for I would be just as adrift without thee to rely upon as thou say'st thou art without me. We are a team, my dear fierce friend."

mina smiles, tail swaying behind them as they reach to brush her hair from her face. " i'm 'aving a ton of fun, actually. i missed these cozy set ups... all th' drunken laughing. most importantly i'm happy you decided to come with me ! "

She's only had to perform music once, and the memory still haunts her. But that's for a different time and place! For now, she's grinning at Mina. "It's a nice place, and a nice party. Been ages since I got to relax in Eorzea." Tural is a little better, but the parties aren't the same. This is the sort of carousing Laurel likes. "I'd go anywhere you invite me, silly. And be glad for the invite."

“ no imposter could match our skill in battle. the ascian was tiresome more than anything, and ill suited for the part. “ her lips quirk into a strange, faint smile. “ were it not for that, i would have returned to you sooner. nightmares drain energy, and i shan’t have my friend exhausted. “ there’s concern, but mostly possessiveness in zenos’ tone. he reaches for laurel’s hand, dragging it towards the slow beating heart in his chest. “ i … realized i was scared too, that our stage was our final place at each other’s side. you should thank your tall friend for keeping me alive. “

She mutters something a little frustrated, a little sad, entirely inarticulate. Her hand is followed with the rest of her body, and then Laurel's head rests against Zenos's sternum. Her heart beats beneath Laurel's palm. That much is real. And she feels a little better now that she's said this aloud. The wonders of speaking, maybe. "I didn't want you to die. Even if you had, I would have taken part of you to carry with me forever. I already have, with Shinryu, but... I'd never match it to having you with me. My dearest friend." Using Zenos's word for it. That should get the same feeling across. "I thanked all of them, you know! I will again. Maybe I'll bake them a cake. You should thank the, too."