nysalogs | ( closed ) off to never never land

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( closed ) off to never never land

Who: Duo Maxwell (

fisherwife)
What: Lonely Hearts Club Goes Camping ™
When: Early February
Where: Woods around Wyver
Warning(s): Possible warnings for language, talking about war and violence, mentions of nightmares and etc.

As awesome and adventurous as Nysa has proven to be so far.. even someone like Duo could feel a little lonely from time to time. Yes, Mika and a Tekkadan crew did a damn good job of making him feel like someone out there might just understand, but there was no way he was going to saddle them with all the goings on of his own war. They shared the common shackles of having gone through struggle, both to live and to simply thrive, and there was no revoking that. Even if they'd only shared shreds of their experience in life, it was more than he'd managed to share with most people around here. Even if he was sure as untouched snow that absolutely no one here could know him and his past, there's no revoking a former gundam pilot's paranoia about being recognized, being known, all those consequences...

He's just plain unwilling to accept all of those, and so he keeps to himself, mostly. Social enough, but not nearly as social and sharing as he could be.

However, when Mipha mentions once, in passing, probably thru text message, that another person she'd known from home had left... a little plan sprouts in that only at times brilliant mind.

- - So Duo proposes a camp out. It might do them both well to just get out of their respective cities for a little while and simply enjoy the woods and everything that went along with it. He'd even offered to take on packing their foods and drinks, which happens to include a little bit of bubbly because he thinks Mipha could use more of that, honestly.

Relaxation, time for herself instead of serving other people. All the things that Duo, really, never found himself doing.

They've hiked in to where they'd decided to call it, and Duo has finally decided the tent is secured enough when he pokes his head out of the front -

"Any luck with the fire Mipha? Isn't like we'll freeze to death but these damn bugs, man.."

A true space boy who hates bugs. What a good camping partner.

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To be fair, you're all babies compared to her. Mipha can't accurately gauge his age, though she figures he's around the same age as Link and Zelda. She smiles lightly though. "I know, and I'm sorry. But I'm curious to learn more about you, and unfortunately it seems hard to separate those sad things from that goal."

The war and everything seems to be as much a part of him as anything else, and clearly it's what's shaped him the most. She doubts she could learn more about him without learning more about it too, so she doesn't quite see the point in trying to avoid it.

"I suppose I simply don't want you to feel like you have to avoid mentioning it or talking about it out of concern for upsetting me. I promise I can handle it." Mipha laughs a little and drinks some more. "If it helps, I may not even remember anything you tell me by the morning if I keep going at this rate." But she's joking...mostly.

"I mean all we've got is time, here." Which is kind of sort of true. They have time until they go back to being on ice or something like that, considering it isn't like they can go home if the Natha can be believed. It's a harsh truth, even more harsh if you linger on it too long. He tries not to think about it too much or too often. The idea that everything he fought for could just be gone, just like that...

He takes a long drink of their shared alcohol.

"Then maybe we'll keep drinking." He laughs lightly, taking another sip. "But, really, I promise you there isn't very much to share. Not a lot goes on when you're a street kid. It's all survival and that's it."

"We don't really have the concept of 'street kid,' I'm afraid." Well, perhaps she should rephrase that. She tilts her head thoughtfully. "Perhaps among the Hylians that exists, but... The Zora are such a close community. While children certainly have their own parents, more often than not anyhow, everyone is raised rather communally. If a child were to lose their parents, they'd still be raised by all of us..."

She drinks thoughtfully, blinking way the fuzziness to concentrate on the conversation. "Although, our communities are also much smaller, so perhaps that's only why it could work that way."

"Okay.. so an orphan, basically." He'd never known any kind of parent until nearly eight years old, found in a nun and a priest that he'd been brought to in order to try and reform him. Of course no one warned them what they were up against, but thankfully they'd been incredible and patient with him and his ways. Even patient about his hair, in the case of Father Maxwell or... just picking their battles. "That.. kinda thing kinda existed on L2 but usually it was for kids who'd like.. known their parents? And their parents friends took over when they went away for work or.. died. Whatever happened, you know."

In Duo and his gang's case, though, they'd been alone and taking care of each other since they could remember. Duo fidgets with his braid, a kind of nervous habit, adjusting how it sits over his shoulder.

"Probably. I just... know it was me and Solo and the other kids from the beginning." He shrugs. "We took care of each other."

"But you didn't have that." Friends of parents to help him out, she means; that much is rather obvious to her. She watches him fidget and it makes her smooth the drape of the cloth she wore too.

Solo and Duo. Mipha smiles a little to herself and looks into her cup at the alcohol swirling around in it. "I believe you mentioned a church before. Is that where you and the others stayed?"

"No, I guess not." If he had, they hadn't really wanted to help him and had just let him run off. Not very good friends, if you ask him. He shakes his head 'no' as she asks about the church and the other children. He supposes it's an obvious enough question to ask given what she knows already, honestly -

"Nah. I went there after they caught me stealing bread. Me and the others lived where ever people weren't running us out.. open air or abandoned buildings.. whatever worked for a sleeping place."

Sheesh. Talk about unlocking the door to the Department of Tragic Backstory. Mipha just listens, taking it in. "How long were you at the church? Were they the ones who caught you stealing and tried to take you in afterwards?"

Mipha wanted to know!!! This is what happens with a little liquid courage and wanting to know all about your weird new human friend with long hair, Mipha. He sighs at the continued questions, lips pursing a little as he turns away, checking their perimeter for anything or anyone that wasn't supposed to be there. In some ways he still hasn't left his own war behind, at least not in his habits.

"No I got caught by other people in the market place. They gave me to the Maxwell Church to try and straighten me up." How much it worked, though.. probably suspect. He's still got shitty manners and is a general terror to deal with who tends to talk with food in his mouth. "I was there for two years.. off an on.."

He pauses, but seems to decide screw it since she already knows so much. "I got adopted a few times but I didn't.. want to be. So I made sure I got back to the church one way or another."

Look, she doesn't totally regret it okay?? She DID want to know, it's just sad. She listens quietly, just drinking and listening and trying to put the pieces together of how Duo Maxwell was.

Which reminded her-- "Your last name. You took it from the church?" She can't help but smile a little. "It sounds like you really liked it there, despite everything." A pause, a moment of hesitation and she continues softly. "...I suppose I don't need to ask to know it didn't last very long."

“yeah .. thought it was only right, really.” Liked it was the least of it, but he’s not fuzzy enough to begin getting in to the details of the Sister and Father and why he’d liked it there so much. He’d been so young and naive then, thinking that he could live there forever and there wouldn’t be any problems, that he could have this unconventional family and move along with life like he hasn’t been brought there in bad circumstances. Mipha presses on to say that she knew it didn’t last very long and Duo decides then to shotgun the rest of his glass -

Now there’s a huge rough spot.

“Yeah. It - The church was destroyed by a military group ...” does he have to say that they died? Does it make a difference at this point?

“So I had to make my own way again.”

The fact that he throws the rest of his alcohol back like that confirms it for her, even without him going on to verbally do so.

"I see," is as she says, mulling it over in her mind. She doesn't think Duo would appreciate outright shows of pity or sympathy, so Mipha saves her sympathetic look for the inside of her cup. "Thank you for telling me. I'm sure it's hard, and... You don't have to tell me more if you wouldn't like to."

She goes quiet a moment, thinking, before she offers, "shall I tell you something about myself too, to make it even?"

"I think it'd be good if we could hear from you a little in this deal, yeah." Plus it gave him some time to gather himself up from having to sort of relive all of that mess from before. It's never easy, even if he knows living in the past doesn't do a whole lot for anyone or anything. Other than, of course, pouring himself a new glass because that entire bottle might have his name on it soon. If this talk keep up at least.

"So yeah.. I guess whatever you wanna tell me about?"

Mipha laughs a little, though there's not much humor in it. What to talk about? Most of her things would have to do with unrequited love or something, and that doesn't seem appropriate to think about.

(It also makes her think of Link again and how he's back up in stasis, making her just feel depressed again. She drinks some more.)

"...We had a war too, of sorts." She begins, speaking slowly as she figures out how to explain it. "There was a great evil threatening to rise and put the entire world at risk. My friends and I were chosen as the Champions of our people to help fight against it, but in the end... In the end, we failed. It has grown too quick and too smart while we hadn't been paying attention, an we paid for it dearly."

Mipha takes another deep drink, finishing off her cup again. "...I was killed. My spirit trapped in my Divine Beast-- A sort of... What was it called? A 'mecha,' I suppose? Either way, I was stuck inside of it for a hundred years. Just... watching as this evil grew and destroyed so much in its path..."

In a way it's a familiar story - being a chosen few meant to save the planet. There had been five of them, though when he'd started this mission he'd thought that he would be a one man army. He listens with intent, enjoying the buzzing feeling in his head and the pleasant numbness in his fingers. This is the kind of thing he needs to unwind every so often.. even if..

"Well, shit." He pours her a new glass just as quickly as she finishes, figuring she's going to need it.

"You take the cake on sad stories there, I say. But here you're alive so.. I guess it's like a second chance, right?"

Silver linings?

Mipha can't help but laugh, feeling fuzzier as the alcohol settles into her system more. "This isn't quite the award I wanted to win. Do I get a plaque? I'm sure there are others with sadder stories."

But he's not wrong. It's definitely a second chance and she nods slowly as she considers it. "Yes, that's true. A second chance... And one I don't want to waste." She holds up her cup a little towards him, as if in a toast.

"To living our lives to the fullest?"

"Yeah.. it's a sad dog standing in a puddle. We'll pass it along month to month." He laughs lightly, a toothy smile crossing his face rather quickly, another sip of his alcohol down. This place was oddly lonely, even if he'd contented himself with the others being here just not... here. He could go visit them in their tubes but it wasn't quite the same as a lively conversation with Quatre or annoying the living hell out of Wufei for the fun of it.

He blinks for a moment as she offers up the toast, snapping him out of his thoughts. He nods, putting his glass up with a smile and tapping it against hers gently.

"Don't chug it. I have a feeling we're in dangerous territory right now." ... He says before filling his mouth totally with alcohol and swallowing.

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( closed ) off to never never land

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