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[For anyone walking along the village today, they might come across a rather strange sight. Two girls who look like they could be twins walking towards the clinic, with one hanging onto the shoulder of the other... or rather, one being held up by the other. And “she” doesn’t look too happy about it, either. But when is that one ever happy, really?]

--I swear, once these stupid drugs wear off-- [“She” started, blinking as if trying to get the effects to go away. Of course, it wasn’t going to work. It had taken a lot to sedate Sync, surprise surprise.]

It’s only a little bit further until we reach the clinic. [Ion all but ignores the attempted threat, keeping “her” voice soft in the hopes of keeping Sync’s temper at bay. Not that there’s much “she” could do to Ion in this condition.] Are you tired? We can stop and rest for a little while if you’d like...

I’m fine. [“She” snaps.] I don’t need your help at all. [Even ignoring the fact that “she” can’t walk in a straight line at the moment, which was why Sync was even depending on Ion to walk at the moment. It’s not like “she” wanted to, but at the moment it was inevitable.]

[Ion only sighs, once more ignoring Sync’s words and stopping at the nearest bench. Sync may still be far more affected than Ion, but that didn’t mean Ion wasn’t feeling tired as well. AND SYNC WAS A FATTY SO HE WAS HEAVY....

...HEY NOW IT’S MUSCLE OR SOMETHING OK. Sync sits with a sigh as well, not exactly fighting it for once. Even though Sync had said it wasn’t needed, “her” body was saying the exact opposite. As much as “she” wanted to get away from the whole situation, there was no way Sync was going anywhere fast.]

[Anyone out there want to help two “girls” in distress? Or, alternatively, anyone who actually knows them might see fit to realize those “girls” are not normally supposed to be girls...]

--

[Once Ion’s left Sync in the clinic to rest up, he’ll start making his own way back home. Only this time, he’ll be putting a bit more effort into concealing the little change the Malnosso decided to stick him with this time around... not that it’ll be very difficult, of course, given he is Ion. He’ll probably be walking a little unsteadily until he finally makes it back to House One, whereupon he’ll try to quietly make his way back to his room so he can curl up under the covers and sleep for awhile.]

[Of course, someone is free to intercept him, either to help him back home or greet him upon his return. Though he might be a bit more stand-offish than usual... and you would be too if you woke up as the wrong gender today.]

--

[Well finally, the rest of the drugs have worn off, and Sync’s back to his normal self -- personality-wise, that is. Everything else...has gotten him into a bad mood. Now that he’s not so sedate as he was earlier, he’s much more prone to losing his temper on anyone and anything he comes across. Kicking a puppy? Yeah, that’s what he’d like to do right now. He is slightly satisfied about the coat that Ion gave him, but there’s no way he’ll admit that ever. Just less embarrassment for him later, right?]

[He’s also making his way back home, hoping to just sleep off this curse Luceti brought on him. Maybe...maybe it’s just a bad dream.]

[But he’s pessimistic enough to know that that’s not even true, so he’s not going to bother hoping for long. Run into him? Good luck if you choose to...]

--

((ooc note: Please note in your subject line whether you’ll be running into Sync and Ion in the beginning, or either of them separately! Keep in mind three-way threads may move slower than others because timezones are a jerk. Or you can run into both separately, because this is funny ok ok.))

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[Fortunately enough for Ion, the shirt he's wearing now has a collar high enough to cover the scars in the front, in addition to being loose enough to... well, somewhat conceal his figure. He'll still keep his arms crossed over his chest anyway.]

...you know how the Malnosso can be sometimes. Their experiments don't always make much sense. It looks like this is what they decided to do to me this time. [That's all she was asking about right? Right??] But changes aside, I'm all right.

Yeah, but...did they hurt you?

[The scars had looked faded, but who knows with the Malnosso?]

[Would it really be so easy, he wonders, to simply insist no, they hadn't, and hope that would be the end of it? It wouldn't exactly be a lie, would it?]

[And he can't help but think, with both Florian and the original Fon Master Ion here now, maybe... maybe hiding them wasn't the best course of action anymore? One hand lingers at the base of his neck, and his gaze falls towards the ground.]

...no. They didn't hurt me. [...] Not this time.

[Maybe she shouldn't ask. She's probably forcing Ion to relieve some memories he'd rather not touch again. But curiosity is a powerful motivator, as is concern and the desire to fix things. And she can't help if she doesn't know what had occurred.]

Then...when? What happened?

[The memories are only half painful. The scars up front, the least so. But the one on his back...]

...it was a little over a year ago now. I was kidnapped by the malnosso, and they did some sort of experiment on my voice. I couldn't talk for almost two weeks afterward.

[He'll just leave out the part where he was left out in the snow, nearly bleeding to death. He places his hand over his neck.]

They didn't completely heal the wounds on my neck when they brought me back to the village... but the ones they did left scars. That's where I got these.

Ugh...I'll kill them! [Her hands tighten into fists as a surge of protectiveness overcomes her. Why is she so powerless here? Ion had suffered enough back on Auldrant...It isn't fair that he had to go through the same here too!]

I can't believe they-- What's even the point of doing that?!

I wish I knew. At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't any point to it. [His gaze falls and he shuts his eyes, gently shaking his head.]

...but it's all right. I'm just glad you haven't had to experience anything like that. [Not this time. Not yet. How depressing, that such thoughts were just a part of life in Luceti? As much as he wants to be able to protect her, as much as he knows she wants to protect him...]

[But it wasn't just the Malnosso, was it? There were even worse things in this world to worry about. The hand that had been on his neck trails over to his shoulder. Even after all this time, it was still a little stiff to move it.]

[She spies the movement and moves forward slightly, as if she could help by just being near.]

So...what about your back?

[Ion stays silent, eyes still unable to look up at Anise directly. The hand on his shoulder grips his shirt. He had to answer her, didn't he? And a part of him really, really wanted her to know. It was just one more thing he was still hiding from her, wasn't it?]

[He hesitates, then pats a spot beside him on the bed. He's still not looking up. It wasn't a question of whether he wanted to tell her or not... it was question of whether he could.]

Would you mind... sitting next to me, Anise?

Of course. [She lowers herself down gingerly, feeling the situation to be too tense to be broken with a joke or nervous laughter.]

Take as long as you need, okay?

[He keeps his gaze averted, even she she sits down. But he will glance over, just for a moment, so he can find and take her hand in his own. It's always been difficult to talk about this, and not even the passing time lessons the pain.]

It happened... not too long before you came to Luceti. I was still in bed recovering the day you arrived. [It had been the first time he'd been outside and walking around since it happened. He'd just been too excited to see Anise to care about how tired he still was.]

You're familiar with... the drafts, right? The ones organized by the Malnosso to fight the third party. [His voice shook a bit at the word, almost as though just saying it had become difficult. He gives Anise's hand a small squeeze.] They've never given us much choice in terms of who is sent out and who isn't. Even though I can't do anything to help fight, I've... been sent twice.

[Now that she thinks back, Ion had seemed a bit sick that day. How could she not have noticed?]

Ion...That's horrible. I should have been there to protect you.

It's all right. I... I'd never want you to have to go through what I did, Anise. [The hand holding onto Anise's is shaking. Despite everything they faced on Auldrant, nothing could have prepared him for that feeling, that pain, and not knowing whether or not your last breath could be you final one. Not even his actual death could be comparable to how agonizing it was, waiting with Asch until they could find someone to help stop the bleeding...]

...it was my fault. I wandered too far by myself, and I paid for it... with one of my wings. [Any close to the left and he'd have lost them both in one swing -- a fatal blow even outside the barrier.] If it hadn't been for Asch showing up when he did--

[He can't finish that sentence. It's not even that he can't bring himself to say it, though that certainly is a large part of it, but... so far as Anise knows, Ion's life has never been in danger to such a high degree before. Even when he was being kidnapped, it was always by people who needed him to be alive. Perhaps it was that knowledge that made him so reckless at times.]

Ion...

[She doesn't know what she can say. She's a failure as a Fon Master Guardian, even in Luceti. What if Ion had gone on the last draft and she hadn't been allowed to go...? Why can't she ever do her job properly? Anise hates seeing Ion being put into danger. But she hates this feeling of helplessness just as much.]

[She still doesn't know what to say. But maybe she doesn't have to say anything.]

[Hesitantly, she leans over to give Ion a quick and awkward little hug. It's the closest she's been with him since his failed confession.]

[Awkward. That's about all these two have been around each other, even this long after Ion confessed to her how he felt. Would that feeling ever really go away? He's not even sure whether his recent kidnapping effect has anything to do with it or not, for how they've been around each other all this time. But right now, Ion wants nothing more than to just wrap his arms around her and stay there until he can get a hold of himself. Just thinking about the drafts was enough to make his face go pale, and even now that shaking was slowly making its way up his shoulders.]

[But he doesn't do that. Instead, he simply leans into what little embrace he can get, murmuring a few small apologies -- for what? upsetting her, perhaps -- and closing his eyes. He didn't want to think about it anymore. He wasn't there right now, he was here. Anise wasn't there to protect him before, but now she was!]

[But who would be there to protect Anise? Him? When the only thing he could do was get in the way...]

Don't apologize. It's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong.

[Why had all these things happened to Ion? It's not fair. He's such a good person, helpful and optimistic and naive - ]

[He doesn't deserve any of this. A sudden wave of guilt almost causes Anise to let go, but it feels so nice to be close to Ion again and she doesn't want them to grow distant again. Not yet.]

[She's such a selfish person.]

[It's almost strange, isn't it? Both of them feeling selfish for wanting something they both want. Romantic inclinations aside, Ion wants nothing more than to be close to Anise to again. She has always been his best friend. And he hates that things were still like this between them. If only he hadn't told her-- ...but there was no reason to think like that, now, was there?]

[But this... perhaps this was something they needed. Ion hated keeping secrets from Anise. He kept so many from her for so long, and it was never until he told those secrets that he realized how badly he wanted to say something. Even now, he was keeping secrets... and he knew she was as well. Secrets he already knew about. Secrets that only served to draw them further apart. And he hated it.]

[He can hear that pain in her voice, and he can't stand it. It was pain she was feeling for his sake, a pain he's been trying so hard to hold back ever since she arrived. The scars of that draft ran far deeper than what could be seen on his skin. But despite that pain, and seeing Anise taking part in that pain for him... it felt good. Sharing some of that heavy burden with someone he cared about so much...]

[And it was just enough for him to throw aside any concerns for how awkward things might still be between them, how awkward things could still become between them, and finally reach up and pull Anise into an honest-to-goodness hug.]

[It felt good and right, hugging Ion like this and having him reciprocate. It isn't until this moment that she realizes how much she had missed him.]

It's okay. I won't let them hurt you like that ever again.

[But even as she says the words, Anise realizes that she might not be able to keep her promise, with Luceti's unpredictability. But she'll try. Nobody would hurt Ion here, not if she can help it.]

[Ion knows all too well just how hard a promise like that is to keep, but somehow when he hears it from Anise, he feels he can believe it. Despite everything that's happened, here and on Auldrant, he trusts her. He trusts her so completely it's probably erring on the side of foolishness, but he trusts her all the same. And when she says she's going to protect him, he believes her.]

[Or perhaps it's simply knowing that if she can't protect him, he could never hope to protect her.]

[He doesn't respond right away, only holding her more tightly and closing his eyes. When he finally speaks, his voice is soft; very nearly a whisper.]

Thank you, Anise.

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