∞ 83: A chronicle of life and death [action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[What a wonderful afternoon. The sun is shining, the sky has cleared up, and the ground is drying after two days of rain. And Albert is around the village today, weaving through the streets and between houses and even to the edges of the forest.

Little do people know that Albert received a beautiful flower last night, and he happened to smell it. When he awoke up the morning, getting out of his room proved to be an ... arduous battle. And getting out the front door? Well, he had at least discovered what a doorknob was by then.

He has a vague, wondrous look on his face as he looks at swaying tree branches and flowers he would have otherwise ignored. His hair is in slight disarray, as if he had rolled out of bed and fought his way through a bedroom door. His clothes are in a similar state, and notably the same as the ones he had been wearing last night.

This isn't strange at all.

He will be wandering around for the entire afternoon. Attempts to talk to or capture the 6'1" strategist will be bizarre. ...And he won't be returned home until sunset or so.]

Comments

[action]

[chronica.livejournal.com]

[Mayoi will be walking around as well, watching the floating Mushi go by aimlessly. It's a good distraction from her lack of sleep for these past couple days. Eventually though she'll feel someone stopping her in the middle of her daze walking. Or rather, she'll bump into Albert because she wasn't paying attention.]

Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you. [oh god he's so tall.]

[action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[So many different sights and sounds. They blur together into a fantastic tapestry for the senses, acknowledged for what only seems like a few moments before attention is averted elsewhere.

But he stumbles slightly at the feeling of an obstruction in his way, and he looks down. Had it been there? It was moving and making noise and-- Oh, something in that direction---

From any other perspective, it would have looked like he had looked down at the girl with a vague smile for all of three seconds before moving around her.]

[action]

[chronica.livejournal.com]

[...Okay. That was weird. Not even a word of anything else. He looked out of it as well. She'll turn around, watching him walk for a few seconds, before calling out to him.]

Hey, are you okay?

[action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[If he heard her, there is no sign of acknowledgment. He wanders away, not sparing a backwards glance.]

[action]

[silversnowfall]

[Well. Albert seems...content today.]

Good afternoon, Albert.

[action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Content is a mild way of putting it. If ever there were recreational drugs in Keterburg...

Albert seems to have no intention of slowing down or stopping to talk. He practically breezes by.]

[action]

[silversnowfall]

[they have drinking and gambling there instead. And a spa.]

Albert? ...Is everything all right?

[Action]

[blackenedchaos.livejournal.com]

[Of course it would just figure that Albert would find trouble while his demon was still recovering from being gnawed on by Moro...again.

Yeah, screw the whole don't show up near Albert's residence order, all orders are very much subject to interpretation when one of them is in serious danger anyhow and this definitely seems to fit.

So that means Yuber would have shown up last night actually right as Albert's life force dropped to nearly nothing for what seemed to be no cause.

And this time he's not going to end up half on a chair when he teleports there.]

[Action - last night]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Only a few minutes prior, Albert had retired to his room, setting down his journal on his desk. His hand lingered on his journal, eyes looking past it to stare at the map of Sirry Crags. Still many things to think about. Many things to plan.

He carried his newly-acquired flower to his bedside, sitting down and studying the morning glory. It hadn't really crossed his mind that there would be such large wild moonflowers here. Though showing the beginning signs of wilting, it was a different shade from those he had on his trellises. That was probably why Rune thought it interesting enough to bring it to him. He sniffed the flower delicately, moving to set it on his bedside table.

The morning glory fell from suddenly nerveless fingers, beginning to crumple into itself. A thread of panic passed through him as he felt his body withering away.]

Ra--

[And then the panic was gone, replaced by a sudden feeling of serenity. As Albert collapsed at the edge of his bed, eyes shutting to the world, he was unaware of how the color had drained from his hair and body.]

[Action - last night]

[blackenedchaos.livejournal.com]

[And that just shocks the demon. Humans didn't just fall over dead, right? Or at least not young humans like Albert.

Yet it is so strange to see this, because his summoner looks very much dead, but he can tell that isn't the case, there is a slight feeling of life, but the demon actually does not understand how a human can go from being perfectly fine to this in such a short time without violence happening, yet there is no sign of that at all.

The demon will now be poking Albert, at first somewhat cautiously with a gloved hand, then more fearful, because really neither of them knows yet what happens if one of them dies. If Yuber could help it, his summoner wasn't going to die on him, and he expects the redhead would respond in some way chiding his demon for having come here when not asked to in the first place.]

[action]

[mydearapple.livejournal.com]

[asldjk;ka what is that tag. Caesar thought it would be a good idea to see how things had gone with that Malnosso jerk the other day, since he was so kind as to call his brother out in public and all. An interrogation was a great excuse to hunt Albert down today, right? But Caesar runs into Albert sooner than he planned to, and much further away from his house as well. That wouldn't have been too strange, though.

...but why is he staring at that tree like that? And why does he look like he just woke up a few minutes ago? Though Caesar's still standing at a distance, he's also standing and... staring. Something feels off today.]

[action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert is in fact not staring at the tree, but at something fascinating he had never seen before -- a honeybee. It seems to be ... doing something to the flower he had been looking at a moment ago, but what exactly escapes his processing ability. When the bee buzzes away and goes about its own business, Albert does the same -- wandering off in the grass.]

[action]

[mydearapple.livejournal.com]

[...what on earth. Caesar watches him wander off and decides to follow him. Maybe he just... didn't notice him. It was possible, he hadn't exactly tried to make his presence known or anything. So maybe he'll go and do that now.]

Hey. Uh... Are you okay?

[Action]

[falenandawn]

[Even with the general weirdness he's heard of over the journals, that's not enough to stop Frey from taking his daily walk. Upon seeing Albert just staring at a tree, he'll be pausing and looking up as well.

.... Nope. Nothing there.] Is something wrong? [He's also vaguely noting Albert doesn't look as well kept as he had previously. It didn't seem to fit the man, actually.]

[Action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert had been interested in what appeared to be ... ants crawling up the tree, which was in fact what he had been staring at. He had already seen a tree, and that was enough!

He only spends a few moments longer staring at the ants before turning to go on his way. The glint of Frey's hair catches his attention, and he looks ... in Frey's direction with an expression of vague interest.]

[Action]

[falenandawn]

[Okkkk...This was getting weird. He wasn't responding to his question, and the staring was kind of creepy.] Are you ok?

[He'll be walking closer, a concerned look on his face. Was he sick? But he didn't really look feverish, either.]

[Action]

[lezareno_prez]

[Regal is closing up the bakery a bit early today so that he can go home and take advantage of the good weather tending to the garden when he spots Albert looking... perhaps "spacey" is too kind a word. That's unusual, but he's not going to make mention of it just yet.]

Good afternoon, Albert. Enjoying the weather today?

[Action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[There is a distant look in Albert's eyes as he crosses paths with Regal, and he doesn't even glance at the nobleman in some form of acknowledgment. He smiles as something catches his attention, and he stops in front of a spiderweb growing between bushes near the bakery.]

[Action]

[lezareno_prez]

... Albert?

[This is very much not typical of the strategist, so he's going to go over and place a gentle hand on the man's shoulder.]

[action | forward-dated to sometime after being cured]

[chikaidestroyer]

[It's getting later in the day now, approaching sunset. Albert has basically been a ghost around the house, staring too long at nothing while his brain refuses to churn out coherent thoughts. He feels like everything is going in slow motion, and even waiting for the tea kettle to boil had seemed like an excruciatingly long time.

He finally makes his way back to his room, trying in vain to focus on the notes strewn over his desk. When that doesn't work, he turns his chair to stare out the window.]

[action]

[mydearapple.livejournal.com]

[And while Albert was doing that, someone fell asleep. On accident. Somewhere in the house. Caesar probably couldn't have stayed awake any longer if he tried - not after all of that. But when he finally does wake up again, realizing he'd slept much longer than he ever thought he would, his first priority is, of course, to find his brother.

Caesar isn't fully awake, and he doesn't know where the energy is coming from, but he nearly scrambles from the neat little spot where he'd been sleeping to Albert's room. He was most likely there by now, right? And in his usual fashion, he doesn't bother to knock on the door, but decides to open it slowly instead, glancing around the room to check if he's sleeping before he decides to intrude.]

[action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert doesn't react immediately, and when he does, his movements are slower than usual. He blinks when he sees who it is at the door.]

Caesar. You're awake.

[Action | Forward dated to sometime after he's cured]

[wise_maiden]

[Midday on the 16th. With all that has gone on, Raine hasn't been able to sleep for very long. An hour and a half at most. She'd survived on less.

Right now her priority was making some kind of light meal for the reason why she wasn't getting any sleep. Or she'd run out of food ingredients while trying. This had to be the third attempt at eggs, now. And the toast hadn't come out completely burned this time.

It was progress ... of a sort.]

[Action]

[chikaidestroyer]

[Albert had been attempting to get over how slowly his entire world seemed to be going. It had taken an distressingly long time to climb out of bed, and walking through the house felt like walking through a dreamscape.

But this wasn't a dream. This was reality. That time he had spent... That had been the dream. The end of a life, the full cycle of another, and the beginning of a third. It was ... surprisingly difficult to accept.

These thoughts fought through his muddled mind as he wandered towards the kitchen.]

[Action]

[wise_maiden]

[Some scents may greet him first, but the kitchen windows are open to air out the particularly unpleasant ones. Raine is putting a tray together, not expecting Albert to come out of his room. A small plate, toast with a bit of butter, a couple of orange slices, two of the surviving pieces of bacon, and finally, the scrambled eggs. There.

It's actually all very ... normal seeming. There are no extra spices in sight. As she slowly sets the plate of eggs down on the tray, she finally glances up to glimpse Albert's approach.]

... Albert?