15S R6 IC Contact

[mermaidkin]

[The greetings on the other end of the phone line by time of day.]

5 AM to 11 AM: Good morning, Stranger!
11 AM to 12 PM: Good day, Stranger!
12 PM to 5 PM: Good afternoon, Stranger!
5 PM to 11 PM: Good evening, Stranger!
11 PM to 5 AM: A little late, isn't it, Stranger?

[And then:] What can I do you for?

Comments

[mermaidkin]

[Yeah. He answers the door in gray pajamas.]

...you want pills instead of sandwiches?

[otherworldlyking]

Pills are good enough. Already getting ready for bed?

[ That was unprecedentedly (?) fast. ]

[mermaidkin]

I... thought about going swimming. But I don't have my own swimsuit that would remind me how. So what's the point?

[He just kind of. Bustles out to the LDK. Time to pour glasses of water and get out saucers for pills.]

[otherworldlyking]

[ ...There was this moment where he tried to recall if someone mentioned they had his swimwear, but since he couldn't immediately, he let it pass. The important part was he tried, though. ]

You need your own swimsuit to make you remember how to swim?

cw suicidal ideation

[mermaidkin]

Hm. [Hiyori puts the pill on the saucer. Then starts swirling around with his fingertip. He's making it look like the ticking hand on a clock, rhythmically.] That's a good question. Maybe I really should try and see whether my survival instincts stop me from drowning. I'm sure that would make Queen Ambrosine happy.

[He looks up at McBurn.]

I definitely don't remember how to enjoy swimming. But supposedly our own possessions have fancy propaganda powers that make you want to do stupid things again instead of work.

[otherworldlyking]

[ His brows knit together for a moment, really looking at the brunet, though his expression seemed something vaguely close to displeasure. It seems like he didn't like the idea, whether or not it was seriously entertained. ]

You don't seem like the type to bother wasting time on making someone happy for a reason like that.

[ Then, he'll yawn... ]

Can't say I really know for sure. At most, I don't doubt they're reminders of some past "strength", so they're probably important that way. But relying solely on them to "do" something seems like a half-assed way to go about things.

[ Says the guy who was a lazy ass—but physical activity was sometimes an outlier. ]

[mermaidkin]

...let's say that it was a joke.

[Making Ambrosine happy. She may love her puns but she's so grumpy!! He forces a smile through that explanation but then gets serious again, thinking quite a bit about McBurn's strength idea.]

Do you know how to swim, Enforcer McBurn? Competitively? [Hiyori holds up a finger.] Our leader definitely knows and could tell us. But I figured I'd just ask you like a normal person.

[otherworldlyking]

Could swim competitively if I wanted, but I can't be bothered...

[ It'd be like those 459896 swimming Trails minigames that existed for some reason. Except it'd be either him losing by a mile or him winning if by some miracle someone motivated him to win the race. ]

...Usually, anyway. What made you ask? To draw comparisons?

[mermaidkin]

((See. This is why I didn't look it up. So that "swimming Trails mingames" could slap me all at once. Okay, no, there really was another reason--))

I was just thinking... about who I'd race if I did it again.

[He adjusts his glasses.]

It'd be pretty pathetic to say "fight me" and then hear you didn't know any of the strokes and stuff. Akabane-kun would make it all touchy-feely, and a lot of the others are weak somehow or not used to competition. You're the obvious choice for an actual contest.

[otherworldlyking]

[ He'll smirk at that.

It actually sounded like it made sense to him when the brunet put it that way. ]

Heh. Well, if you challenged me to a race, I'd actually go ahead and put some effort into it. Somehow, I could imagine you making it worth my time.

Trails??? Spoilers???

[mermaidkin]

Then... We'll see what happens.

[He's smiling... faintly. The cloud of everything that's happened in the past 24 hours still hovers over his eyes.]

How about the winner gets to ask the loser a question? I think... I could use more perspective on the events in your world. I don't know if my perspective is as interesting an offer to you, though.

Indeed Trails of Cold Steel I & II spoilers, in a way

[otherworldlyking]

[ Honestly, what happened was a lot. The rush of victory would be more of a ride if he wasn't already thinking of how to prepare for the next 'fight'...which was him just thinking if he should just throw himself at whatever comes with Angbar or the whip first.

Such strategy, wow. ]

...Sure. Don't really care to make the bet different from my end.

[ It kind of reminded him of when Crow made the people aboard the Pantagruel make bets (totally headcanon, but he would.) ]

Been awhile since I have, anyway. Maybe I'll learn something interesting, depending on what I'll have to ask.

[ Like some kind of embarrassing event that involved Hiyori in his world just for funsies...!! Okay, probably not because realistically speaking the other probably had more swimming skill. But. You know. ]