asgardmeridiem | WELCOME TO ASGARD (part two) [OPEN]

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WELCOME TO ASGARD (part two) [OPEN]

Who: EVERYONE!
What: Getting introduced to the city
When: Day 1, around noon
Where: The castle plaza and the Welcome Halls
Rating: Worksafe -- If this changes, please inform the mods.

[Welcome to the city of Asgard. Now that you've woken up and been given your welcome instructions (as per the FAQ), what will you do? There are a good number of other new arrivals being shown to the gates, and for today the plaza that surrounds the castle is open for mingling. You could also head to your Welcome Hall (details here) and meet your Housemates if you'd like. Whatever you decide to do, have fun getting settled into your new home!]

(ooc note: there will be threads below for the plaza and each House. Mingle and get to know your fellow Travellers! This is a continuations post, but by all means feel free to start new threads.)

[thread links: CASTLE PLAZA | ODIN | THOR | LOKI | SIGYN | HEL | HEIMDALL | FREYR | FREYA | BALDR ]

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[ His eyes open soon after he's done speaking. If anything, they're wider than ever. ]

No. I doubt it. Most people here are alive. [ And he's the exception for some reason. Well... him a few others who'd offered their state as somewhat public information. The vast majority, though, couldn't be dead. ]

It's been about two days. Time works funny here. [ He shrugs, causing his arms around Yukari to loosen. And with that comes a sudden chill - his uniform jacket isn't anywhere near as warm as the coat he'd given Yukari, and now that more of him was exposed to the cold air... He shivers. ] We should get inside.

[She nods quickly, ready to follow him, as usual. Yes, practical things. Important stuff. And hiding that childish disappointment that they couldn't keep standing there forever like that.]

Two days, that's not nearly long enough... [Though depending on what he means about time, it's not clear. And if it were, she certainly wouldn't be able to reason it out just now.]

No. But Ryoji and I showed up at the same time. He was from the past. From during his fight with Aigis. [ He shrugs as he walks, hands in his pockets both out of habit and in an attempt to work some warmth back into them. ] There's also a group from Yasoinaba. They're from the year 2012. These gods can take anyone from anywhere, and from any time, too.

[ Now, it seems, is the time for explanations. He walks at a brisker pace than usual, legs taking him down the path to his own House. The walk is short enough, but walking faster gets the blood flowing, and that means both of them will hopefully get warm even before they manage to get indoors. ]

[...right, Aigis. She's itching to ask him that question, about why her. In fact, she has a lot of questions she wanted to ask. One of those recent interminable few days, she'd compiled a whole list, scratching at the paper of a journal viciously, giving rein to the perverse urge to wallow in her negative feelings -- a whole list of questions she would ask and things she would've told him (or told him more times...) if he were around. She'd taken a bit of savage joy in it for a moment, satisfaction with the stark way she'd put the question to the world (why did that happen?), then tossed it aside. But she remembered most of the questions anyway.

Still, she doesn't ask any of them. Now that she's here with him (and having accepted it provisionally, she doesn't dare disbelieve any of it), it seems totally facile. She tries to pay attention to what he's saying instead--and then it's surprising:]

Ryoji-kun? [That's not exactly pleasant news, either. If he's here, what does it mean? She says more quietly:]

...Well, he'd have to be from the past, wouldn't he?

[She sighs.] And, a group...? You mean, another SEES?

Yeah. People come here from a lot of different time points.

[ Minato is fairly sure there's no harm in Ryoji being here. If anything, it had been a comfort seeing him here. Yukari's presence is slightly more of one, though. She's on that short list of people he'd regret not getting to see again, and yet here she is. Maybe this will be good for both of them. ]

Not another SEES. [ He looks at her out of the corner of his eyes as he walks, shoulders drawn up to ward off the cold. ] But they can use Persona. And they fought a destructive goddess too. A different one.

[She mulls that over. A lot of different time points... So there might be someone here from her future? That's a scary thought too. If it's set in stone.]

And you're from... [She doesn't finish that, instead shrugging and clearing her throat a little awkwardly. It's cold; she hugs his coat around her more tightly.]

S-So, there's more Persona-users here. That's... Is that a good thing? [Do they have to fight something again? She's willing to fight anything with their leader here -- or apparently here -- but really, she can't think about that part any more. Yeah, it's a relief to think about the practical stuff instead.]

From graduation day. [ And she'd know what that means. He doesn't plan on elaborating any further unless she asks.

Thankfully, they're almost to Heimdall House, having rounded a corner. There it is - his new "home". It doesn't really feel like much of one, however. Not without the others. Yukari's here, though, and maybe this is her House, too. He hadn't even thought to ask or sneak a peak at the jewel on her bracelet. ]

More Persona users isn't a bad thing. They're more like us than they are like Strega. Their leader, Seta-san, is a real nice guy. [ That much as certain upon talking to the Inaba group's leader just the first time, and he'd managed to talk to him a lot more often than that since.

The door to Heimdall is now in front of them, and Minato shivers one last time just from touching the cold metallic door knob to open it. Suddenly, there's blissful warm, and Minato motions for Yukari to come on in with a tiny smile. ] Welcome to House Heimdall.

[Nope, not going to ask. She knows enough about that.]

Right, then... I just hope they don't have another world-ending threat in store for us here. I've had enough of that stuff... [Especially if it comes with the costs that it did before.

She looks around, realizing just now that they're here. It doesn't look like a huge palace or anything from the outside, but she steps in gratefully to the warmth. She just now recalls that:]

...This isn't the house they said I was supposed to go to.

[ Oh.

Minato closes the door behind them, leaning against it for a second as he shrugs nonchalantly. ]

That's fine. We'll find yours later, this is just so we can get warm. [ Pushing away from the door, now, he doesn't even meet Yukari's eyes as he heads for the stairs. He's trying to hide his disappointment - the people here are nice, but living here isn't the same. He probably shouldn't complain though. At least he's living. ]

[...So he's living here now? Yukari also feels a bit of a pang at that. Though she'd already sought to leave the old dorm, or at any rate stay out of it as much as she could -- it was only because of him. Where is her place? Maybe it's close.

Or-- well...]

W-Well, why do I have to go to mine, anyway? Why can't I just stay here?

[She follows him to the stairs.]

[ That's nice of her. Minato appreciates it - even if she can't see that he's disappointed too, even if she only wants that for selfish reasons of her own... it's still nice that she seems to care that much.

It's then that he turns back and shakes his head. ] No. I don't think it works like that. Your god chose you. Mine chose me. We live where they do as their guests, kind of.

[She can't always tell with him, but she feels like she got a hint of disappointment. In fact, she really doesn't want to leave him alone at all. What if he'll go away if she lets him out of her sight?]

So? I didn't sign up for anything like that... We haven't let gods stop us before.

[ He has no plans on leaving this place. Where would he go? Still, Yukari has a point. There's no harm in trying. ]

If you want to stay here... [ He shrugs. Honestly, he could do without and get used to it. Minato had thought he was used to it as it was, but that was before being reminded of the way things used to be. ] I won't stop you. Don't get mad at me if Heimdall does, though.

[ Continuing up the stairs, he pauses at his floor and finds his way to his room. It's even more barren and dull than his dorm room had been, but it's warm and there are blankets and he can dig around for a pair of pants for Yukari to wear, if she'd like to get out of her skirt. In fact, he busies himself with that right away. ]

[She shakes her head impulsively.] I... [...would never get mad at you, not anymore, not after that, she starts to say, only... That's not quite true, is it? In fact, there's those things that are still bothering her, about his death, the things she can't vocalize now.]

Don't worry, I won't.

[As for pants, it's a good idea, Minato; she absently rubs her thighs, trying to get some warmth back into them -- they feel like frozen meat.]

Maybe I could just grab someone's room. Or trade or whatever.

[ He nods, even though her back is to him, and holds up a pair of pajama pants. His only pair, but they're flannel and warm. If Yukari wants to borrow them, though, she's free to. He turns around and tosses them at her. ]

Put these on if you're cold. There's a bathroom through there. [ He points to the only door not leading to a hallway. ] Or you can use my blankets. [ He glances toward the bed. The suggestion is a little... awkward. Even he realizes that. But it's too late to go back on it.

He looks down at the floor, expression blank. Honestly, Minato doubts that Yukari will be able to live here with him, room trade or not. He doesn't say anything in particular to the suggestion for a long moment. And when he does, his reply is pretty generic. ] You can try to trade, sure.

[Her cheeks are still red from the cold, which is helpful because it's hard to tell that she blushed at him pointing to the bed. Of course, this is the girl who absently commented on how no one would be hearing her scream... So she doesn't have that much room to criticize such phrasings.]

Uhh-- Yeah, I'll put these on. [She slips his coat off, too.] And, you can have that back. Thanks.

[She goes in to change, trying to figure out what he means by that inscrutable comment about 'you can try.' He doesn't want her there? Or he doesn't think that it'll happen?

She doesn't quite close the door when she gets inside, though. It's just... she wants to hear him moving around, at least. She's not ready to let him go like that.]

[ And move around he does, first putting the coat back in his nearly empty closet, then taking his own advice and wrapping one of the blankets from the bed around his shoulders, sitting hunched over and waiting at the edge of the bed.

This is all really... strange. He'd have done this for any of his friends from home, but with Yukari it feels less like being a good friend and more like awkwardly inviting a girlfriend into his room. And yeah, they'd sort of dated, he supposed, and she'd definitely told him that she loved him. He cared about her, too, but the extent of that caring was hard to determine. It might be a bottomless well or about the size of a wishing fountain, and Minato wasn't exactly the best equipped to be able to examine his feelings like that.

He closes his eyes, feeling suddenly very Tired and unwell. When she comes back out again, he'll open them again and hope that she won't be able to guess why he suddenly appears so weary. It is great to see her, and he is sorry that she'd missed him so much and that he couldn't have stuck around longer, but Minato doesn't know what to expect from this encounter from this point on. That Yukari seems so set on trying to live in Heimdall instead of where she really belongs is troubling to him. ]

[She comes out, clad now in that slightly awkward mashup of her stylish outfit and his, um, pajamas. He's still there. Of course he is, but seeing him is a relief in and of itself. Even if he does look tired again... even if that sends a chill through her.

Surely, she thinks bitterly, this isn't a normal amount of caring for a boy. Not that she can control it either way, but she's conscious that she probably seems clingy right now. Why had it hurt so much again when he'd died, when he'd left her? It was hard to remember, at some points, but with him here, it's more obvious: she hadn't let anyone in close until him, not since her father... And then, he, Minato, too...

At that, she stops thinking about it as best as she can, and eyes him ruefully. It makes sense that he's tired, she thinks, suppressing the worry. She says in a falsely cheery voice:]

These are pretty comfy, Minato-kun. Even if it all clashes.

[ He sits up a little straighter when she reenters the room. He'd gotten a chill earlier, that's all. This kind of weariness is nothing compared to how he'd felt that last month.

Looking at her, she looks pretty ridiculous. The pink of her sweater clashes pretty badly with the flannel pants, enough to bring a small smile to his face. ]

It doesn't. You look great. [ It's refreshing, seeing her not so well put together, actually. In a way, she really does look great, even clashing like that. Minato pats the bed next to him. ] We should talk some more.

[She smiles a little at that, and is mildly surprised at how naturally it comes. She hasn't smiled (really smiled, anyway) in weeks, but there her lips go, curved upward. Whether or not the happiness comes first like an eraser to rub off the black fog, or if it follows in afterward like the sun shining through clearing clouds, it grows naturally as she goes over and sits next to him. Just like usual; just like always.]

Funny, I was just thinking that the wrapped-in-a-blanket look works for you too.

...But yeah, we should. [About this place or about home, though...? It's hard to know where to start. She'll see if he wants to start first before going on herself.]

Good. It's one of my favorites, too. [ He wraps it a little tighter around himself before continuing. There's a lot he wants to know about how things had ended up at home, but there's probably a lot that Yukari wants to know about this place, too. It is hard to know where to start, so he goes quiet for a long moment before continuing. ]

...How is everyone? [ A stupid question. But one that's relevant. One that won't let him leave it alone. ]

[She shifts a little, and her shoulder brushes against his. She keeps it there; a little contact is nice, even if they can't stand in the cold holding each other forever-- or whatever.]

They're fine... Or they seem to be. [She's been pretty focused on herself.] Well, Aigis was getting awfully... robotic, if ya know what I mean...

But, well, everyone was sad, but they were getting along. [Whereas she, Yukari, was... stuck.]

[ That's a relief. He wouldn't want any of them beating themselves up over the inevitable. The news about Aigis hurts a bit, but he'd kind of expected it. Of course she'd take it badly. Minato had been the one thing she wanted to protect most in the world, the one person she trusted more than anyone, and he'd just... fallen asleep.

If there's anyone he feels guiltiest over abandoning, it's Aigis. But Aigis isn't here. ]

That's good. [ He could say more, but he doesn't trust himself to. Maybe talking about how things were back home hadn't been such a good idea after all. ] Any questions about this place your maid didn't answer?

[She observes his reaction to that part narrowly. It's more than a little bit of jealousy, certainly. He'd already spent his last moment -- not counting now -- with Aigis; did he miss her the most now, too? Does he wish she was here instead of Yukari?

But those aren't thoughts she likes harboring at all. She really dislikes them, in fact. She briefly puts his other question on hold to go on.]

They were closing down the dorm in a week or so. We were all moving out.

[She pauses.] About this place... I don't know. I don't know if there's anything I can really do except take it at face value, huh?

Permanently? [ Even though he'd tried changing the subject, his curiosity's nearly endless, and that definitely draws his attention. It wasn't like most of them didn't have somewhere else to go... He wasn't sure why he felt so strongly about it, especially if they were all moving out permanently. The seniors surely had to, but the juniors...? ]

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