Rystelle

shadows.

"That sounds good," Sophia agreed. "Park is out of the question though, that's for sure. Um... There's the movie theater, the mall, bowling, indoor mini-golf." She listed the various things off her fingers, stopped for a moment, then continued, "It's honestly too cold to do outdoor activities, so we'll stick to indoor stuff. But it is nice to get out of the house occasionally. Hm... What to do? What to do...?" Sophia mused to herself for a while while letting out a low hum. Eventually she made her decision. "How about indoor mini-golf?" She asked. "I know this one place that has it. They also have an arcade, some rides, and food. Like a little theme park, but year round. What do you think, Tim?"

Flames of War ( Rystelle x Ragnarok)

Lydia had to admit that she was enjoying herself immensely. More than she had ever thought she would in this sort of situation. At the beginning of their journey she hadn't imagined that they would get along, much less that their earlier affair would come to pass. Yet she had no complaints of it and liked whenever Ragna pulled her close and kissed her. Recalling their first meeting in Termina when she had put her hand in his and he had shied away, she smirked. No, certainly neither of them had foreseen what their temporary alliance would turn into--even if this itself was only temporary. Lydia couldn't help but smile at everything Ragna did. She laughed a little when Ragna said that he wasn't into exhibition and agreed saying, "Nor am I." She returned his kiss happily, but let out a small squeak of surprise when he picked her up as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. Soon, however, she gladly settled into his arm and leaned against his chest. "Hm..." She mused at his question. "Further into the woods then and away from the road?"

Flames of War ( Rystelle x Ragnarok)

Lydia let out a light laugh at Ragna's words, then smiled. She herself was surprised at for once being happy about being called beautiful--usually she hated people making a fuss about her looks. She also still enjoyed the kiss Ragna gave her, despite knowing about another woman. She should probably be ashamed, she knew, but she wasn't and she didn't care. It was actually nice to hear that she meant something to Ragna, more than the demon Jezebel at least. He could by lying just to please her, but Lydia felt that he was honestly sincere. "I never thought myself to be a jealous type either," Lydia said when Ragna mentioned it. "Truthfully, I didn't know myself to be any type. I've never exactly been one for romance. Always too busy protecting the world." Then her face fell for a moment and her voice sounded a little sad as she added, "Besides, knowing how my father left my mother and me... I didn't want it." Lydia smiled a little again and had to admit, "I guess you just got the better of me. And a bed may be more comfortable, but I think I would prefer out here. With that Jezebel around I'd prefer to have my weapons on me at all times. Can't exactly do that when your clothes are on the floor." Lydia leaned in and gave Ragna another kiss, this time on the cheek. "Besides, I'd rather not give her a reason to gut you. I like you too much for that."

shadows.

Sophia had to laugh aloud at Tim's observation. "Yeah," she agreed. "It's been one hell of a morning so far. But no need to worry any more. We can just relax and spend the day here, or go out and do something. Whatever you feel like doing. Though I might have to do a bit of work for school later." She thought for a moment, then shrugged it off. "Eh, it can wait. So, what would you like to do today?"

shadows.

Sophia paused the game, set her controller down, and turned to look at Tim. There was a slight look of annoyance on her face. Why was he so dense and determined to suffer alone? He had her now and she wanted him to confide in her more, to share both the good and bad things. It's what friends did. Even if Tim might not know it, Sophia knew it wasn't good for him to keep everything all pent up. Keeping in your emotions only made things worse. She put out one finger and poked him in the forehead, pushing Tim back a bit. "Don't be an idiot," Sophia remarked firmly. "You're my friend, Tim. I'm going to worry about you one way or the other, no matter what it is, whether you like it or not. Got that?" She wasn't asking for his approval. She was telling him what was going to happen. "I swear to God if on Thanksgiving Day you're not here in my apartment having dinner with me," Sophia went on, "I'm going to break down your front door, tie you up, and drag you here. Understand? Now I don't want to hear any more 'don't worry, I'll be fine on my own' nonsense for the rest of the day, or else I'm going to make you eat soap." To show that it was only a friendly threat Sophia pulled her finger away from Tim's forehead and grinned.

shadows.

After a while Sophia released Tim. "Feel any better?" She asked. He nodded a little. "Good," Sophia said, managing a small smile. "How about we finish breakfast and kill some more zombies?" So they resumed eating and once they were finished Sophia put the dishes in the sink and put on Left 4 Dead again. Sitting back down with her controller in hand she declared, "It's a good thing the cafe is closed today through Friday for the holidays. I know you've already kind of turned me down once, but you're more than welcome to come here for Thanksgiving if you like. Christmas too when it comes up. I'd prefer to know you're not sitting alone in your apartment, and sharing the holidays with a good friend is always nice." After hearing about Tim's mother she thought that, if she had to, she'd make Tim spend the holidays with her. She was sure that every other holiday had always been hell for him and so she wanted to make them fun for him now.

shadows.

As Sophia listened to Tim she felt a wide range of emotions boiling up inside her. But at the forefront of it all was sadness and anger. Sadness that Tim had ever had to live such a terrible life, and anger at his mother for putting him through it. She couldn't help the few tears that rolled down her face. Sophia was generally kind by nature and sensitive to the feelings of others. It was all she could do not to keep from outright bawling. Having shoved her plate aside earlier, Sophia wrapped her arms around Tim and hugged him tightly. "It wasn't your fault," she told him with a final tone in her voice. "It wasn't. You hadn't even been born when your father died. Even if you had been you couldn't have done anything. None of that shit was your fault, Tim. None of it. You're not worthless. You're not horrible. If anyone is, it's her. She's fucking psycho and I hope she rots in Hell." Sophia hugged Tim even tighter and by now she was trying hard not to cry, but her voice was wavering. "I think you're great, Tim. Despite everything you kept going. Despite what that nut job did to you, you're still super sweet. I love hanging out with you; I always have fun. And we're friends now, so you can rub that in that bitch's face." Again Sophia gave Tim another reassuring squeeze and continued, "Whenever you need someone to talk to, I'm here. If you ever need me for anything, no matter what time of day it is or where either of us are, just call me. You're always welcome here in my apartment if you don't want to be alone in yours. Whatever you need, whenever, just tell me."

shadows.

Sophia blinked for a moment and then slowly put down her egg-filled fork, which had been halfway to her mouth. She set her plate aside. Tim had her full attention now. "Honestly," she told him as she looked him directly in the eye, "I had a feeling it was something like that. I noticed you rubbing the crook of your arm a lot earlier and thought there might be something there, but I didn't want to ask you about it. You were upset and I didn't want to make things worse. I have to ask now though. What in hell made you try to kill yourself?" It's not that Sophia was judging Tim for it. She herself did not care for suicide and did not see it as an optional way of dying, but she knew that some people did for various reasons. Usually it was because they suffered from abuse and bullying or suffered from severe depression or other mental illness. With the way Tim shied away from people she was sure it had to be a problem that stemmed from another person in his past. Sophia wanted to know why Tim had tried to commit suicide so that she could better understand him, better comfort him and make him feel cared for. He was her friend and it saddened her to see the state he was so often in. She wanted to do whatever she could for him, even if it was just listen to his problems. She waited to see if he might answer her.

shadows.

Sophia stood up and took a moment to stretch. Relaxing her body again she stated, "We'll eat here. What do you like? I can make eggs of all sorts, bacon, ham, or sausage, pancakes, waffles, or muffins. Oh, hashbrowns too." Tim perked up and said, "I like hashbrowns." "Hashbrowns it is then!" Sophia agreed with a grin. "I'll make some eggs and bacon too. Just sit tight and I'll get breakfast going. You can keep playing the game or turn on the tv if you want." Tim chose the tv, and Sophia went into the kitchen to make breakfast for them. First she heated up some oil and grated up a couple of potatoes until they were really fine. Once she had that cooking in one pan she threw bacon on in another. As Sophia worked she hummed as she usually did, feeling once more like she was in a good place and all was right with the world. When the bacon and hashbrowns were almost done she cooked four eggs over medium with two for each of them. When everything was done she plated it, stuck forks on the plates, and headed back into the living room. "Here you go," Sophia said, a happy smile on her face as she sat down on the couch next to Tim again. "Hope you like it."

Flames of War ( Rystelle x Ragnarok)

Lydia couldn't say that she was surprised that Ragna had noticed what the mention of Jezebel had done to her. She had hoped he hadn't, had hoped that she had been able to mask her feelings quick enough, but she knew her silence must have given her away. She felt utterly conflicted. She cared for Ragna in her own way and had enjoyed being with him, but at the same time she still wasn't sure how she felt about being a side woman and fully knowing there was another one. While Lydia had never been in another relationship of any sort and didn't really know what one should be like, she did know what one shouldn't be like. Yet they had no definite relationship, and Lydianna couldn't ever be sure there would be one. Not only because of their differences in race, but also due to the fact that she had no idea how much longer her life might be depending on what the demon king had in store for her. Whether her life was to be short lived or if she would be lucky enough to have a long one, it was better for Lydianna to decide what she wanted now and not make either of them wait until it was too late. So she made her decision. Motioning Ragna down so that his face was close to hers, Lydia suddenly draped her arms around Ragna's shoulders and kissed him fiercely. She didn't care, she decided. Didn't care what happened, or when. She would take things as they came. Finally releasing Ragna from the kiss she said, "We'll go to your manor and get your armor." A mischievous smirk appeared as she added, "Besides, then you can easily compare the beauty of a demon woman to the beauty of an elf." This was the first time Lydia had ever mentioned her looks in a way that was almost prideful. Almost, as she still felt a little awkward talking about her own appearance.