solo mission

EMBARRASSING, REALLY, THE WAY KAMUI calls out to him like this. not that he minds it so much, rather the disturbance i causes, let alone the fact he’s much more of a private person than his boyfriend. and to make it even more on point it feels as if the other always seems to miraculously forget after each time. as much as he wishes to accuse the other of doing it intentionally, there’s a doubt that always lingers, as if in knowing it was merely just how excitable the other is.

still, that hardly halts the shade of faded pink that tinges his cheeks at it all, let alone accompanied with the kiss on his forehead.

❝ Aside from the fact I don’t need to be picked up lik that every time? I told you, you can just call me Morian when we’re in public. Lee’s just a brand name I go by for technicalities. And it’s not as if the tabloids don’t know about that much. ❞ anything else beyond the fact that he was seeing kamui and his personal name was kept as sealed as he possibly could. ❝ Being a genius isn’t foolproof, you know. A lot of these guys are just about on par with my intellect. One slip in my designs and they’ll do more than just dismantle the toy. But it went fine. Moray seemed pleased, too, ❞ he tacks on, heaving a small sigh at it all.

❝ And? What about your presumed tardiness? Don’t tell me they tried keeping you overtime. You’d think they’d learn by now they won’t keep you in place long when you have things you wanna rush to… ❞

Settling on draping himself over Morian, he listened as Morian talked, although he was pretty distracted by the cute flush on Morian’s cheeks...Cute! So, so, cute. Oh, shoot, what was hesaying? Something about being picked up again? Come on sweetie, it’s not the time... “Huh? Huh? Why can’t I call you both, wah.” Rubbing his cheek against Morian’s,he pouted. So very much like a large dog, arms wrapped around the smaller man. “They needed some help! So I very quickly just picked up and tossed some logs and then I ran here as fast as I could! I even dropped my bike!” Or left it somewhere. Pout, pout, pout...

But that pout turned into a broad smile as he moved to stand in front of Morian.

“Where I’m from, there’s two moons, Masser and Secunda. The change doesn’t mean much to me, but it’s odd nonetheless.”

He gave the stranger a harsh glare for a handful of seconds “Ah yes, because I should take advice from someone whose outfit almost entirely consists of pockets.” 

“But wouldn’t there be a difference? Shouldn’t it impact something? Two whole moons...” He thought about it for a moment, before looking at the other.

MAYBE HE WAS FORTUNTE HERE, the feeling of weighted metal in his hands familiar than faux guns, granted by being so bold as to step foot into the mists. not merely his weapons, either, but the sense of some kind of sensory rebooting in his systems. strange, that mists would grant such a thing, if not considerably fascinating to him. one mental note is all it takes for him to remember to return to the edge of the city to gather samples, given he was able to make it out alive and whole without any logistics or repairs.

especially in sight of the distant howls of corrupted. ❝ Dammit. I knew this place was too good to be true, ❞ he speaks with mild concern, fingers already ready to pull the trigger at any second. what his eyes can tell him there is something lurking within the mists - an almost darkness that feels familiar, if not distant. and it was only with the sound of footsteps to accompany them that he reacts as he does, an arm lifting with precise speeds to aim a barrel at the source, all before registering just who it was at the call of his name.

❝ Tsk. Kamui… how you haven’t gotten lost yet is another dumb stroke of your luck or something incomprehensible still. ❞ not that warmest greeting, given kamui’s own reception of the sharpshooter, but it could have been far worse. what it is his fellow construct says is what garners his attention, however, cerulean eyes resolving themselves more in earnest.

❝ The Commandant? I haven’t picked up on their signal. ❞ not that it means they weren’t somewhere, brought to this mysterious land just as they were. ❝ You’re right. I’m not as good as Support Types like Liv. But it’s beneficial to inform you my functions have been hindered since coming here… so I may not be able to accomplish what you want, either, ❞ he notes, as irritating as it was to not have that sense of control. ❝ … did you bring Corrupted with you? I don’t have a read on Commandant, but it’s undeniable something was trailing you once you got into my range. ❞

“They’re definitely here. I can hear their footsteps.” Looking for signals was far from his own forte. But given how used he had always been to being alone, it made him really aware of others with him. Finding Lee, the Commandant, Liv, or Lucia - and of course the members of his own team - was pretty easy once he tried to leave out the logistics of it. How they walked, how they breathed, how Lee lifted his gun and how he held it.

Especially when it was, even briefly, pointed at him.

“I haven’t brought anything with me. Not on purpose, anyway.” Although he had been trudging through, trying to follow those footsteps. And there was that feeling. That small nagging at the back of his head, that almost felt like it was tugging on...Something! He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. And he definitely wasn’t sure how to explain it.

“Why? Do you...” He pauses, listening for a second before bringing his sword off his back.

“Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” His shouts could be heard from across at least one ward as he practically sprinted to his boyfriend, grabbing his hand and tugging him in for a hug, placing a kiss on his forehead. How long had they been together? He wasn’t entirely sure, because honestly, it felt like he had known Lee forever.

The larger man finally put down his boyfriend, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’m so glad to see you! Wuh, am I late? Why are you making that face! How’d your new toy demonstration go?” Kamui wasn’t very good at creation like Lee was, and he never had been - at least not with smallscale things. Too excitable, too rough. Instead he was pretty good at handling hard labor - and so he worked on construction and deconstruction! He was good at carrying, and he was good at helping to fix big machines.

Seems like he had a visitor. Calmly, Kratos stood, and took a step back from the device. Maybe this youngster knew something he didn’t.

“I’m unfamiliar with the connections you’re making. I’ve never heard of Inver-Device, or ‘Mind’ in the context you’re referring to.”

“As for ‘taking’ it, I haven’t. This was made from a collection of spare parts I’ve found around the island, using a few manuals I found in the libraries here as a reference.”

It’s been a few hundred years since he’s made one of these things, the refresher was necessary.

“I’m trying to get in touch with a matching device on another comet.”

“Well, I have both an Inver-Device, and I kind of need both that and my M.I.N.D. to keep things going.” He looks at the device, blinking. Sorry Kratos, but this is on Construct who is bad at anything technology related that doesn’t involve running directly through it.

“Good thing you didn’t take it though. I guess technically, well, you’d be like the Commandant, but I’d really rather you not go poking around in someone else’s M.I.N.D. - oh! So, you mean like a communication device? My Inver-Device can usually detect other Constructs and sensors, but it’s not working now.”

So much had been happening that he couldn’t fully process or understand. He wasn’t sure if he could actually even analyze anything even if he was fully powered, and between the mechanical legs scurrying about, he could feel an inkling, trickling darkness following him.

He had never been happier to see Lee, and he charged straight ahead through the mist, that same darkness following him, but he ignored it. Because, Lee was way better at anything of this sort. He can’t help but have a prickle of anxiety about it. There was something...About this. Something odd, but more importantly.

“Lee!”

“I’m pretty glad to see you - ah, listen - I can hear the Commandant running around, you know! I can’t find them anywhere, but I definitely know that pattern, and it sounds like them.” That, and there were enemies lurking in the mist.

And there was something following him.

“It’s a game where you kick a ball to eachother.” Curiousity knew there were more rules than that. What the rules were, exactly, escaped her. It wasn’t like she had ever played before. It seemed pointless.

Until now.

The girl kicked the ball over to her new companion, the purple optic landing to stare up at him blankly. Curiousity knew Morality would be judging, but that didn’t matter. She always judged.

Kamui picked it up, and he didn’t need his Inver-Device to figure out that this wasn’t a ball. Tilting his head, he looked back at her. “Are you a Construct? You shouldn’t kick around your analytical device. I know someone who would be pretty upset.”

The Miqo’te blinks slightly at the other male as he spoke,his mouth opening for a moment as he was going to reply to the other about what he was actually on about but held back for a moment,lightly raising an eyebrow at the other.

“ Not exactly what I meant but uh…..Good for you? ”

Kamui tilts his head, looking at the other’s ears, back and forth, and then at him directly. “What’d y’mean? What’s a Limsa?”