victory_road | Arrival; [Video]

Felix may have missed Sylvain more than he's ever missed anything in his life for the last four months, but that doesn't stop him from giving the screen a very unimpressed look. "There's a road. With a sign." He shakes his head, that small smile returning to his face. "But the day I arrived--"

Wait, shit. He wasn't planning to bring that up yet.

"--anyway, we're more than half-a-day's ride from you. This world has faster methods of travel. We can move between most cities instantaneously, like the Warp spell, once we've been there to register our devices. The creatures here are called Pokemon, like your Ponyta. Some of them are large enough to ride, and some of them fly. I'm going to warp to the city closest to you, then fly the rest of the way to pick you up."

His eyes flick away from the screen briefly, as though he's worried that Sylvain might see the whole truth in them otherwise. "...I have. I've been here for almost exactly a year. It's...eerie, that you're arriving so close to the same day I did."

Now there's a look he knows all too well. Sorry Felix, he's still a slacker where it counts.

"And there's also these weird walls- actually, never mind." He waves it off, it's all just excuses anyway and even Sylvain knows that. He'd just been disoriented, and let that melancholy sense of not wanting to put in the effort get to him. Such is the stress response to such a wild scenario.

Sylvain listens intently to the bizarre and frankly fantastical explanations as best he can. He even looks over at ponyta, and tilts his head. She's a horse, certainly, but by no means a Pegasus. He doubts she'll fly as Felix's 'Pokemon' do, apparently. And even if she did, riding her wouldn't work either. Ponyta looks right back at him expectantly.

"Anyway," and he looks back to the screen, just in time to catch Felix looking away. "It can't be that surprising. I mean, I think I accepted the fact I'd be glued to your hip the rest of our lives when we were little kids. It kinda makes sense that even if I'm late, I'm still perfectly in time with you. Just how we are, I think."

It occurs to Felix to wonder why the same person returning to this world can end up with a different starting Pokemon. Perhaps it has something to do with their state of mind when they're transported here...if so, it would actually make a lot of sense that last time, Sylvain would start with Useless Fish, considering he was coming from the absolute lowest point of the war. If he's got a horse this time, that suggests he could be coming from a better place. That's encouraging.

Felix's gaze flicks back to the screen, at that. Perfectly in time with you. At first, it strikes him as something of a horrible joke, considering what he hasn't told Sylvain yet. But hearing the rest of our lives from a version of Sylvain who doesn't even remember anything that happened here feels...like a huge relief, actually, even though of course any version of Sylvain would remember their original promise. Still...still, it's nice. He knows he should be careful about getting his hopes up. He should err on the side of caution. Keep his expectations low.

It's hard, though.

He scoffs, but it's clearly nothing but performative; the smile is still hovering around his face despite his attempts to seem grumpy. "You're right, I never have found a way to get rid of you. I'll be stuck with you forever, I suppose."

The scenery shifts behind him, as he passes from the road through the doors and into the Pokecenter, Inda in tow.

Edited 2021-12-08 07:56 (UTC)

"Nope, and you never will." Sylvain shoots him a knowing wink because of course he does. He makes a habit of being a nuisance that somehow people still want around. He's a professional at this point.

And now Felix is in some kind of building. Sylvain thinks back to what he's been briefed on via the odd manual in the backpack he'd been given and Felix's explanations. A Pokemon Center then. He knows it's unrealistic to say six hours could have passed, but that means Felix is still so far away it makes him sigh under his breath. He's a social creature, so being out alone on some hiking trail, route- whatever it may be, isn't exactly his calling. At least ponyta seems to sense his dip in mood, and she cuddles under his arm. Her forehead presses to his cheek, and Sylvain can't help but scritch her behind those big ears (while marveling that her burning mane still has yet to scorch him).

"The one following you seems friendly too. Are all Pokemon like this?"

"Incorrigible."

Ugh, why can't he just warp straight to New Bark? Whose idea was it to make that the only place in Johto without a damn Pokemon Center?

Felix stops at the PC to switch out his team; in the interests of getting Sylvain home as quickly as possible, he's going to bring three fliers so they can take turns in the air. His three fastest: Foudroyant, Eisner, and Luin. Plus Inda, Varley, and Rhiannon.

...in the interests of getting Sylvain home. He pauses, realizing that he hasn't even thought of anywhere as home for the past four months. Thankfully, Sylvain distracts him from this maudlin train of thought.

"No, not all. There are plenty of wild ones, and many of them enjoy battling anyone who passes by. Some Pokemon simply don't like humans, or have ornery dispositions, like any animal. But for some reason, everyone who comes here from another world always begins with a companion. Yours is that Ponyta. Mine was a cat."

Inda gives him a Look from offscreen, but he gives her one right back. He can't introduce her properly until he tells Sylvain the important things, and he doesn't want to do that over video. Sylvain deserves to hear those things in person.

Sylvain very nearly quips about Felix being back on his favorite word for Sylvain. But for the sake of still wanting to have someone coming to rescue him, he keeps his mouth shut. Only self-preserving enough to do it once though.

"Yours would be a cat, you're practically one yourself." He's immediately glad Felix isn't right next to him, or he's fairly certain he'd be swatted for the comment. Then realizes, no, he'd actually be fine with it. Because then Felix would be here.

"Guess it also makes sense I'd get a horse. I named her Bonnie, just like my warhorse back home. You remember when she was a foal this small, don't you? She made you cry when she bit your fingers to get a sugar cube out of your hand." He's mostly just idly talking to fill the quiet, but it does feel good to just talk to his best friend. It always has been his own personal form of entertainment: chatter boxing at Felix.

Sylvain's absolutely right, he would be swatted for that comment if Felix were there. As it is, he gives the screen a flat look. "That feline menace is nothing like me. If anything, she's more like you. A charming troublemaker."

And yes, he's endlessly fond of them both. So sue him.

...wait, did he just call Sylvain charming to his face? Shit. Whoops. Anyway, moving on--

He makes a face at the reminiscing. "Of course I remember. It wasn't my fault you didn't train your horse not to be so sloppy and overeager. Besides, she's never liked me." Just like every other horse he's ever met. In his opinion, anyway. Hmph.

Goddess, how much he's missed this. Just being able to talk to Sylvain, hear his voice. He's almost too happy to keep up his usual prickliness.

He steps up to the warp pad and pauses. "I'm about to go through the warp to the next city. Don't disconnect."

He has no idea what it will look like to Sylvain, or whether his Gear will even stay online...guess he's about to find out! Time for warp #1 to Ecruteak.

Oh, he's charming is he? And of course Felix thinks he can just change the subject like he's going to get away with that line. No, no- Sylvain's not about to forget.

"Oh please, she likes you. She likes anyone that brings food within biting distance." He waves it off, and watches Felix step onto the warp platform. There's a split second of apprehension that worms into his gut. He never stopped to ask important questions like if warping hurt or if there were unsavory consequences. Warp spells back home always made him somewhat sick to his stomach-

Well, Felix doesn't seem worried. Maybe a little teasing just to let him know Sylvain cares.

"Yeah, yeah see you on the other side. Try not to think about how charming I am while you're gone."

"Tch. Brings their hands within biting distance, you mean."

Dammit, he knew Sylvain would make him suffer over that...the trouble is, he's having a hard time remembering how he used to react when Sylvain teased him like this. Which means it's almost a blessing that before he has time to do anything other than let Inda into her ball, the warp kicks in.

Mere seconds later, he's arriving at the Pokemon Center in Ecruteak. Not that there's much difference, of course. Most Pokemon Centers are more or less identical, down to their creepy Joys. Warping just once has pretty much no consequences, so he's perfectly fine when he brings the screen back up to see if Sylvain is still there.

"Hmph. I never said you charmed me." Even Felix knows that's one of the least convincing excuses he's ever given. He steps down from the warp pad only to walk a few feet away and step onto another one. "I'm warping again."

Edited 2021-12-09 07:30 (UTC)

It doesn't look as though Felix has gone anywhere when the screen flickers back to life after a brief 'signal lost' message flashes on the screen. Did it not work? Or maybe it did and Sylvain just has no earthly concept of this technology- yeah, he chalks it up to that.

"Heh, just you wait. One of these days it'll work on you." He says it as he always has, that air of teasing that's impossible to tell genuine from play. But he's always been like that with Felix. Offers of dinner dates and nights on the town, always rejected, but it never stopped Sylvain from trying. "Might be when you're old and wrinkly, but I'll win eventually."

He watches and waits as the screen cuts out again, and within a few beats, it's back. Sylvain sets a hand on his chin, and puts on the theatrics like he's been contemplating something deep and scholarly. It is far less so.

"Y'know, I've been thinking: you're as stubborn as a mule, but even you have to see there's an easy way to get me to stop, right? Can't you concede defeat just once? Good sportsmanship or whatever?"

"Will it? Ha. In your dreams." How is Felix supposed to keep a straight face, here?...this is not a problem he ever has, but this situation is so absurd and it's making him...

...happy. Oh, he's trying to temper it. He knows plenty of things could go wrong. He knows all of this could fall apart the second he tells Sylvain the whole truth. He's trying so hard, because like this he could almost imagine that Sylvain does remember and he's just playing along, but that's a dangerous way to think. Felix could end up taking this for granted. Getting too comfortable and making assumptions, counting his Torchics before they hatch. But Goddess, it's so, so hard to walk his feelings back like that.

The second warp is a little nauseating, but he's had much worse; it's not hard to just ignore it, particularly when Sylvain picks right back up where he left off. Now, Felix is not one for jokes. He expressly disavows them at every opportunity. He loathes pranks and dislikes surprises. So what he does next is none of those things.

He's just...playing along, just a little.

He gives Sylvain a thoughtful look as he steps down from the warp pad. "I see. So you only want me to say yes once, and then you'll be satisfied? Hmph. Not worth it. If I concede defeat, it will be for nothing less than a wholehearted effort."

He quickly lowers the Gear and steps onto the next warp pad so Sylvain won't see him smile.

Sylvain wears that smug grin a second too long. It's only as Felix steps up to the next warp pad that it actually hits him. Seriously? Is he gonna get that dinner date or not? Signs point to no.

"What- wait- Felix!" he whines like a petulant child as the screen dims again. With a tremendously theatrical huff, Sylvain flops back against the tree roots, and ruffles Bonnie's fiery mane. She looks up at him with those big, dark eyes, and flicks an ear. Sylvain gets the impression she's amused.

"He says he's not a cat, but he's a liar, Bonnie. I've never a met a guy more fickle, I swear to all the Saints."

After a moment, the screen returns, and he fixes Felix with such a Look (tm).

"Jackass." Except it comes out so much fonder than his bluff.

It's true, he is a liar - he knows full well he's a cat, otherwise he never would have started using cat emoji in his text messages. But Sylvain has yet to see those. He remembers the very first message in his own Gear inbox and decides that once they're finished with the video call, he'll return the favor.

"Perhaps. But I haven't yet heard what I get out of it." It's mildly haughty, but in a way that's the Felix equivalent of playful.

Now he's starting to really feel the effects of the repeated warping. He puts out a hand to steady himself on a nearby table, closing his eyes briefly. "Ugh. I've arrived in Cherrygrove, that's the last warp. Fortunately."

He makes his way outside and releases his Vikavolt from her pokeball. Ordinarily, he'd tell her why they were making the trip - she'll be glad to see Sylvain again, too - but he can't explain it while he's on the call, so he'll do it later. She'll get the picture when she hears who's on the other side of the call, anyway.

"Ha, so you admit you're a jerk," Sylvain chirps like he's won somewhere along this conversation. Which he has. Definitely. "What could possibly be a better reward than the company of yours truly? Not to mention you get a nice dinner out of it too. If anything, maybe you should sweeten the pot."

Except he's grinning, and his eyes are bright. Whatever tone of grudge he's trying to hold rapidly falls apart into amusement. He's never been good at pretending to be mad long. It always turns into a 'gotcha!' moment any time he even tries.

But where he'd naturally be chipper after teasing Felix, watching him lurch makes Sylvain sober up immediately. His first instinct is to suddenly stand, as if he can somehow catch Felix through the screen. Poor Bonnie gets bowled over, and he tries to soothe her with a hand on her neck while he frets. His gaze never leaves the screen though, and his brows upturn with worry.

"Fe, are you alright?"

"I'd rather be a jerk than a pushover," Felix counters easily. 'What could possibly be a better reward than the company of yours truly? Sylvain asks, and Felix doesn't say aloud 'literally nothing.' But he thinks it really hard. "Why would I need to sweeten anything? You're the one asking. So convince me."

As if he needs any convincing. But whatever. Honestly, he's surprised Sylvain hasn't gotten suspicious already, because Felix never used to humor him anywhere near this much...

Ah, of course Sylvain noticed. Felix waves the concern off with his free hand, though the look on his face makes it clear that the queasiness hasn't stopped. "I'm fine. It's just a reaction to warping too many times in quick succession. It will subside."

Maybe slower than usual thanks to immediately flying, but whatever. Anything is worth getting to Sylvain faster.

Being catapulted into a new world has mostly thrown Sylvain off his normally ever-perceptive game. Sure, Felix doesn't usually indulge him quite so much, but he's still being as stubborn and prickly as a belligerent cactus, so it doesn't feel as off as it might. Or maybe he's just in a decent mood today. Or maybe he missed Sylvain. Sylvain certainly would have missed him tremendously in a new place.

Whatever the reason, it's overwritten by the fact Sylvain worries. Felix has practically blanched, and Sylvain wishes he could be there to... to what, he doesn't entirely know. Rub his back, or just hold him steady? Maybe coax him into sitting down and resting. Sadly, it's not a feasible option, given he's not physically there to beat out Felix's stubbornness. But he tries.

"Maybe you should rest a bit. Seriously, you look like you're gonna hurl. Don't push yourself, Fe. You getting messed up on my account isn't worth it."

Yes, it is, is what he wants to say. I made a vow to be a home for you and to work to be strong enough in body, mind, and heart to fight against anything that would separate us. I'm going to keep it no matter what.

Instead, he sighs, less aggravated than Sylvain might have expected, as he carefully climbs up onto Foudroyant's back. From what Sylvain can see on the screen, Felix is apparently riding...a giant insect?

"I don't want to rest. I told you, I'm fine. I'll have six hours to sit here and do nothing but rest." Sure, that's how travel sickness works. Whatever.

Foudroyant makes a happy-sounding, buzzing chirp that has an undertone of crackling static electricity and launches into the air. Felix holds on with one hand and holds the Gear in his lap with the other. The takeoff is as smooth as a giant electric beetle can make it, but he still closes his eyes again for a few seconds until the flight levels out.

He takes a slow breath and lets it out. "Fortunately, Pokemon are smarter than ordinary animals. Foudroyant doesn't need my guidance."

He expects pushback, as he always does from Felix. So not getting it beyond a minor protest actually worries him more. Before he even realizes it, Sylvain starts to pace. At first it might look like he's going somewhere, but then the exact same scenery repeats and it's clear he's just making a wide line beside the trees. Ponyta even trots after him, delighted to finally be up and moving, even if it is just this.

As it stands, Sylvain sees the situation as: Felix is rushing, obviously to the point of making himself vaguely ill. He's riding a giant bug, which just can't be safe, can it? And it doesn't even look like a smooth takeoff. He's rode enough wyverns to know the uncomfortable lurch.

"And you wonder why I worry," Sylvain mutters, and a hand comes up to run through his hair. "Seriously, just be careful, alright? I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"Hmph. Says the man who refused to heed my warnings about being careful." It's just a grumble, though, not a real argument.

I'm not going anywhere. If only Sylvain really could keep a promise like that. Felix knows that he can't, though, and it has exactly the opposite effect that Sylvain intended; he just wants to get there even faster.

"Are you pacing? Stop it." Felix shifts to lean forward against Foudroyant's head carapace, holding the Gear steady with one hand and folding his other arm to pillow his head on it. "This will fade soon enough."

"I know, so don't pull a me is what I'm saying." Yes, he's self aware. No, he's not about to let Felix get away with mimicking his bad behavior.

Thankfully, he's got some sense of obedience, and comes to halt when Felix says so. Leaving Bonnie to crash into the back of his legs, and let out a disgruntled whinny. She gets an apology in the form of a few pats while Sylvain's distracted.

At least Felix seems to be resting now. It's a start.

Sylvain coaxes Bonnie over to come lay down with him to give them both reprieve from the chill in the air. He settles back down into the nook of the tree roots, cheek laid against the bark. It's not the most comfortable he's ever been. But with Bonnie under his arm it's not so bad.

"Dimitri said he's sending food. Somehow-" he still doesn't understand that, but details- "You want me to save you some?"

Felix snorts quietly. "That's the most convincing thing you've said so far."

He sort of wants to close his eyes and just let the chilly air wash over him for a bit, but he doesn't want to let Sylvain out of his sight. So instead, he pulls his hood up to narrow his field of vision to just the Gear screen and Foudroyant's long mandibles.

"Pff. Of course he is. You probably won't have to save me anything, because he'll send you more than you could ever possibly eat in a sitting. ...but yes, I do."

In his mind's eye he can so clearly see Sylvain in his dumb apron, cheerfully making spaghetti. And Sylvain sitting with him on a blanket at the top of a hill, laying out a picnic spread and making fun of him for his sunglasses. Ugh, stop.

...he can't do this. There is no possible way he can make it six hours like this without telling Sylvain the truth. He's not even sure he can make it one hour.

"Sylvain..."

But how is he supposed to say this? For once, he manages to think before he just comes out and says the bluntest possible thing. He has to get this right, or he could end up ruining everything.

"What's the last thing you remember before you arrived here?"

The shift is palpable, and not in a way he appreciates. It's almost as if there's a bad taste in the back of his mouth, at the edge of irritating his throat like bile. But why? He can't place it. It's just a feeling. Nonsensical and worrying.

Sylvain tries not to let it leech into his voice.

"Enbarr," he says, "you and I were watching out from the windows just before the throne room doors. Dimitri and the Professor wanted a moment alone with Edelgard, and then it was over. We won. I..." There'd been a thought on his mind in those last moments. Relief and exhaustion, but even moreso, a gratitude to everything they had done, and still made it out alive. He'd just been so happy to be beside Felix without visiting yet another graveyard full of friends and loved ones. "I remember asking what you were thinking about doing after we finally got to go home. You never answered me. Or maybe you did, and I couldn't hear you, but suddenly I was here."

"Enbarr..." So he's seen the end of the war, but isn't quite as far beyond it as he ended up last time. But the rest...

Felix slowly smiles a little. After we finally got to go home, huh? "There are a few strange things about this place. Since time doesn't pass in our world while we're here, sometimes people from the same place come here from different points in time. The last thing I remember before coming here was retaking Fhirdiad. So I haven't experienced that moment you're talking about yet, but I will."

That shouldn't make sense. It really shouldn't. Just like fire ponies and electric beetle transportation shouldn't make sense. And yet here they are. So Sylvain can only let out a tired and resigned laugh. Accept it. It's easier. And it makes some of the apprehension bleed out of the tense way it knots his stomach.

"Sorry I spoiled the surprise for you then. We did it though. Alive and only a little worse for wear." A little. Because he doesn't know there's a word for how deeply scarring the war was on all of them on levels far more vast than the scars on their skin.

"Guess that means I don't get my answer then, huh? Or did you give it some thought before Enbarr too?"

"We both survived, huh?" Felix knew that already, of course, but it's worth appreciating again. "Good."

Sylvain's question gets his heart doing something funny in his chest. His mind drifts briefly to that moment in the snow, battling against Sylvain's pessimistic streak, making plans for their future for the first time since the war began. Right before they...

Felix lifts his head up so he's no longer seeing Sylvain sideways, regarding him thoughtfully from under his hood.

"During the war, no. I didn't. But since I've been here...I have given it plenty of thought. It's difficult not to, spending a year in a world at peace." It's ludicrous, really, how his pulse races. They've had this conversation already. But they also haven't.

"I'm going to accept my old man's title and lands." He watches Sylvain's face closely. "And you're coming with me to Fraldarius when I do."

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