#zelos 01

The new semester had begun at Spirale University, and the classes were in full swing. Today her last lecture had ended in the late afternoon, and she had gathered her messenger bag full of upcoming test material and the extra copies of the syllabus she gave out in case anyone had been missing (a near criminal offense, in her opinion). She was glad to finally be free to walk outside of her apartment after the city had been covered in crystal. She had started to go a bit stir crazy, not knowing when it would be safe outside once more.

As she made her way across the quad she noticed that a crowd had gathered. This could happen for any number of reasons here at the University. Sometimes students would put on performances to make some pocket change. Other times religious fanatics would go to scream their beliefs, causing a crowd of of people to challenge them. Sometimes study groups met as well. Raine decided to see what was going on, just to make sure the gathering didn’t require security’s interference or medical personnel.

What she found there was a familiar face. The red-haired Chosen of Tethe’alla sat on a bench flirting shamelessly with some university students. Raine would have figured that taken out of his position of power, women would not be so quick to fawn over him, but it appears she was wrong. She cleared her throat and called out to all of the young women that they had classes to attend and schoolwork to do. The students who had taken her classes quickly dispersed, but some lingered behind obstinately. 

“Oh, I remember your face. You’re the tasty looking one who appeared on the phone. How lovely to see we’re technically coworkers.”

“Excuse me! I’m looking for the library, but I think I got turned around somewhere. Do you know where it is?” Really, Aster isn’t even sure where he is now. He’d been relying on asking people for directions, but had somehow ended up more lost than when he’d started. As he approaches to ask his question, he’s struck with a vague sense of familiarity; but it isn’t until the guy turns around that it finally clicks.

The distance between them isn’t that great, and yet Lloyd feels as though it’s the farthest he’s ever been from Zelos-- they had been worlds away from each other, without the brunette even knowing until now. Was that why the desire to reunite with him was so strong? Whereas in the past, Lloyd would always be the one to brush the other’s playful banter off like it was annoying, but..

Right now, he didn’t really care about that. It was just really, really good to see him again.

“Zelos!”

As he calls out the name of his friend, Lloyd’s arms outstretched to meet with him, not realizing that the velocity at which he was running at was probably enough to knock both of them onto the ground.

It’s instinct, the way her arm swings out to catch the man with bright red hair as he trips; she doesn’t even think about it.

It’s only after, as she’s got a strange man in one of her arms, that she considers her course of action.

@desipiam

A flash of red hair in a sea of movement, and Cole’s breath catches.

The force of it pushes him back, faltering, hand coming to clutch at the ache in his chest. There’s so much, empty and yet full to bursting, a vast vicious void of nothing, nothing, everything.

He runs, reeling, racing, pushing past without apology. He has to reach him; there’s so much hurt to heal. The Chosen should never have had to carry so much.

Cole grabs, clutches at a glove, eyes wide and wild. Where’s the beginning place? Which to start with, when they’re so layered in and around and through, making more and more of themselves until all that’s left is to stop from feeling at all?