The Good Ship (Flighter and Oit)

Walter stared at Chrysaorus, and his pupils widened from slits to a normal size again. What did she mean by "clarifying what he meant"? He told the voice to shut up, that was all. That was it. Walter hugged himself tighter, fear returning to his features when he realized something.


"It's in my head isn't it? The voice? You can't hear it, can you?"


Todd stared back at Walter for a bit before shaking his head slowly. He knew Walter was was off compared to other people, but what, he was hearing voices? And he never told Todd about this? He never mentioned it once! Walter had been keeping this a secret from him. Perhaps he didn't want Todd to freak out. He didn't want his friend to know that he had some sort of... auditory schizophrenia.


Walter twitched.


"Wh-why are you staring at me like that?" He asked Todd quietly. Pathetically. Like a child.
 
Chrysaorus turned her head a way for a bit. Now she was starting to understand.


"So, you have voices in your head? And you were telling them to shut up?" She gave him a hard blink and supposed that it was the case. "It's not normal to hear those voices, Walter. And while I'm not sure why Todd is staring at you, it's safe to assume that some of your sanity had been tapped into. Regardless if it came from here or that place you were at before you lost your memories."


Learning this fact revealed a whole new question to Chrysaorus. "What are the voices saying?"
 
Walter wasn't sure if the voice came from somewhere or if he had it all along. He didn't like that Chrysaorus was interrogating him, and he snapped at her instantly.


"What, would you want to know so you can - can manipulate me again?? To throw me down into the dungeon again??"


He then received a quick glare from Todd, and Walter forced himself to calm down. He became scared once more.


"... It's just one voice... And it tells me to do horrible, horrible things. And... And sometimes I just listen. Sometimes I almost do the things it tells me to do."


Todd thought back to how violent Walter could get, back in Concordia. It made sense if this was the cause. That Walter was absolutely insane, and that he could snap and kill them all at any moment. It made Walter seem so much more... Terrifying. But Todd still considered him his best friend. Insanity wouldn't change that.
 
"Why would I try to manipulate you? You're right here; if I were planning to do something I wouldn't need to have to trick you... Not like I am planning something." She released her arm from her face and sighed. She turned to the door and began to walk out. "Feast in thirty minutes." And with that, she exited the room.


((Blahhhhhhhh))
 
Walter snorted, still angry with Chrysaorus despite her claims. Todd took one look at Walter, then sighed.


"I'll lead you to the dining hall when it's time, Walt, so you don't get lost. You just... Rest here, okay?" He told him.


"Why do you trust her?" The older man growled.


"Because I'm willing to see the truth for what it is, Walt. Back in Concordia, you would have have believed me right away if I told you Chrysaorus was fine."


"I don't remember 'Concordia' -- I don't remember anything."


"... Well, maybe if we help you - If we can help you - You'll see what I mean."


They looked at each other, silent for quite a while. Todd twiddled his thumbs and Walt stared into space, thinking things over.


"You're an attractive man, Todd." Walter finally said, breaking the tension. He allowed a small smile to creep back on to his face. Todd rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.


"Uh, yeah, you said that to me when we first met, pretty much. I'm happy to see you smiling again."


"... Did I smile a lot?"


"Almost all the time."


Walter and Todd talked for a while about all sorts of things, of Concordia, of their friendship, of even the weather. It was nice, Todd thought, for them to be talking again, like they did before. Todd had been so worried that Walter would never be the same again, and all that worry melted into relief when, even with memory loss, Walter was still the same guy. He supposed some people just don't change.


Then the thirty minutes passed, the time had seemingly slipped through their fingers like sand.


"C'mon, let's go lead you to foodstuffs." Todd said to Walt, who nodded and, shakily, weakly, dragged himself out of bed. He was still incredibly weak and somewhat ill from starvation, and he needed Todd's support. Not that this was a problem for Todd, who happily helped Walt to the dining hall and helped him down into a chair.


"I'm sorry, you know." Walter told Todd.


"Sorry?" He asked, unsure of what Walt meant.


"Yeah, for... For attacking you before."


"Which time?" Todd asked. He meant it in a joking matter, but Walter seemed confused by his statement.


"... I thought I only attacked you once." the older man told him, but Todd shook his head.


"No, no, remember? There was that time in the cave, and then that time when we rescued you in the..." Todd stopped when he saw Walt's confusion turn to fear. Not about the dungeon, no, but the fact that he had attacked Todd without even remembering it.


"No, no -- It's okay, Walt! It... It makes sense that you don't remember, you were delusional at the time!" Todd said, attempting to make things better, though even then, he was also concerned by this. He would have at least remembered if it was normal, but when Walter attacked him, it seemed like he wasn't even human.


"You've got cat-powers now, Walt -- Maybe it has to do with that." Todd said with a shrug, then finally sat down.
 
Having already left the room, Chrysaorus walked through the halls contemplating on what to do with the thirty minutes she had. Thirty minutes was enough time to begin the rehabilitation of her kingdom. Two messenger birds.


She had created two birds with her power, then gave them the command of 'Record, Home in on Target, Play Recorded Message'. To the first bird, she said,


"Feast in thirty minutes. Prepare enough food for twenty men. After the meeting that will happen now, prepare accordingly."


The bird flied off with the message to deliver it to one of the cooks. To the other bird, she said,


"Meeting NOW. Spare no second in preparing. This is important. I will get this kingdom back on track."


Then the next bird flew off, albeit faster than the other one. Now that was taken care of, she needed to go to the meeting. She stomped through her castle in a rush until she met with the front balcony. A few citizens saw her and, eventually, the angry citizens rallied to the front. It was what she expected. She ceased all guard actions, then proceeded to speak.


She talked about her possession. That it was due to the god, Abbessus, and how he wanted (so she thought) to remake Escherisa into an empire. She explained that the warrant was to stop Todd from bringing her back to her senses. But, luckily, things returned to normal yesterday, before she took a well-needed rest to regain the energy she lost.


She ended stating that any casualties would be taken care of accordingly, and then left to go tend to the feast she was having.


She was taken to one of her maids that personally dressed her and styled her hair. She was escorted to the dining hall. She entered right after the food was delivered to the table, and was seated at one of the ends of the long table.


((I was supposed to describe what she looked like and what food was placed down but I got distracted like 17 times in a row


I suppose a picture of what I imagine her hair to look like would be sufficient so


hereee))
 
Todd saw Chrysaorus be escorted into the dining hall. She looked stunning, really. He smiled to her, gave her a shy little wave. Dear god, she dressed up all nice and fancy, and here he was in a stitched-up, blood-stained outfit. He was in no appropriate attire for something like this, and he was soon sinking in his seat, embarrassed.


He glanced over at Walter who, despite also being covered in dried blood (to the point of looking like a serial killer from a slasher film), didn't seem to care about how he looked as much as Todd did. All Walter did was stare at the food hungrily. The cat-man showed about as much restraint as he could, still remembering his politeness and waiting on the given permission to go ahead and eat.


Todd, meanwhile, while still incredibly embarrassed, wondered if there was anyone else coming. This was far too much food for the three of them. Drianne should surely be coming, and, Todd hoped, Airii and Eirii. But who else? Who else could possibly come, and at such short notice?
 
Chrysaorus brushed the two lone strands of her hair behind her shoulders, and looked at Todd that gave her a little shy wave. She smiled and waved back at him, then looked at Walter who sat near him. Didn't seem to be hostile, or concerned of her. She nodded in approval; it was how she wanted him at the moment.


A few seconds later, everyone else had arrived. The servants, the maids, and the butlers came in first. Then the members of the families that had gotten harmed in the past few days of Chrysaorus' possession. Then came Drianne and the sisters, who took their seats next to Todd and Walter.


"Hello!" Drianne said nicely to the two. She wasn't wearing anything not typical; it was only a short and some shorts. Airii and Eirii were wearing the same thing as they had from the beginning, since they didn't have anything else and Drianne didn't have time to make something for the both of them.


"... Now that everyone's seated, let's begin..." Chrysaorus said quietly. The feast began, and everyone took self-portions of the food that was served. Chrysaorus had someone else portion the food for her, and she ate it neatly with a fork and knife.


Drianne ate properly as well. Being a servant, she had to learn to eat with good table manners.


Airii and Eirii, however, didn't know. But they just watched everyone else out of the corners of their eyes to get an idea.
 
Todd smiled at the girls despite his embarrassment, waving to them a bit as they walked in. Well, at least he and Walter weren't the only ones in poor attire. He was also comfortable that three more people that he knew appeared in a room full of people he did not know. He was certainly not introverted, but this felt different. Everyone looked proper and orderly. He was the fish out of water here.


The minute they were allowed to, Walter took a large portion of food and ate it quickly, resulting in a small smack on the arm and a glare, courtesy of Todd. Todd, despite his wolfish nature, tried as best as he could to eat properly and not, well -- Not like a college student. He did as Airii and Eirii did, looking at everyone else for examples before trying, himself.


The food was delicious. At least there was that in that time of flushed faces and nervousness about not doing something right.
 
When Drianne finished with her food, she leaned back in her chair (but not too much) and waited patiently for the others around her to finish before she talked to any of them.


"Hey, did you hear? The queen got possessed. Ya think it'll happen again?"


"I dunno, but I'm worried. My cousins live outside the castle and they almost got caught in the crossfire..."


It was pretty much the only conversation that Drianne could hear. But she didn't have anything to say about it. She was glad that it was over.


At one point, Chrysaorus had completely stopped eating. She just couldn't finish what she had on her plate. She gave an internal sigh, and stood up firmly in her seat. "Anyone who is finished is excused..."
 
Todd had heard the murmuring, and wasn't too happy with their doubt and lack of trust in the newfound peace. They were scared, of course, and rightfully so. What had happened was tragic. People were arrested. People died. They lost their homes. Still, he knew this all must be making Chrysaorus feel uncomfortable -- ashamed, even.


Todd stood up from his chair, got out and pushed it in (he couldn't look rude or crass, after all). He then walked over to Chrysaorus, leaned in and whispered to her.


"Are you alright?"


Back at the table, all the people, all the noise was giving Walter far too much temptation. He wanted to kill them all, to stop the noise, to bring about a silence that nothing but the dead could achieve. Their blood would splatter the white, white table. He could smear it, improve the look of this bland dining room. But no, no, no he couldn't do that. He'd be thrown out of the castle, surely. That, and arrested, or killed on the spot. Todd would be disappointed, too. He didn't want to disappoint the only person he felt comfortable with in the entire room.


In order to stop himself from doing anything he would regret, Walter began to drive his fork into his leg.
 
((Oh Walt what'cha doin' there


Violently using silverware to prevent the temptation of killing people from actually causing you to kill people?))


Many of the people around the table had dispersed to do their own duties around the kingdom or castle. Very few stayed. Only one, besides Drianne, the sisters, Walter, Todd, and Chrysaorus, had stayed finishing what they had on the table.


Chrysaorus watched the remainder of the people inside the dining hall. If it wasn't just plain coincidence, the only people who stayed were the people who had actually witnessed Chrysaorus' possessed form, to the exception of one. Thoughts floated in her mind, "Are they still afraid?" "Are they not convinced that I've changed?" "Will it take much more effort to get Escherisa back on track?" She stared down at her feet in anxious fear.


"Are you alright?"


Chrysaorus stared back up. Todd, as it had seemed, asked about her well-being. She would have said 'yes', but there were no benefits from preventing him from worrying. He would understand, right?


"No, I'm not all-right." She replied blandly, even though it didn't quite represent her emotions, "In fact, I feel quite... Depressed."
 
((D'aaww))


Todd was glad that Chrysaorus told him her feelings right away instead of hiding them -- Something he, himself would have done in the same situation. He felt that this meant she trusted him, and now it was Todd's job as a friend to help her. But how could he?


"... This wasn't all your fault, you know." He told her softly, "It was Abbessus, and when you get your kingdom back on track, all those people are going to see it." He gave her a reassuring smile, "Trust me."


Walter relaxed when most of the people had left, though he was still tense enough to not release the fork from his leg. He grit his teeth, trying to will the other people to leave. Why was he like this? Was he born like this, or was it the result of some past traumatic incident? Walter looked over at Airii, Erii and Drianne. He forced a pained smile at them.


"Uh, h-hello." He greeted, trying to distract himself, "Sorry about... About, uh..." He momentarily got distracted by the voice in his head, but shook himself off.


"I'm sorry about before, and the whole trying-to-kill Todd thing. I guess you're all friends with each other? Because that must be something, friendship." He forced a tiny, nervous laugh, "No friends for me yet, really, but I do plan on making... A few. Enough."
 
((By doing this, Walt, you're practically farming the cuteness out of those kids over there


You know that, right


Take that fork off your leg mate))


"I suppose you're right... But what concerns me is how. How do I fix what has been broken, besides reviving the dead and healing the injured?" Chrysaorus said, not 100% convinced. Her eyes drooping, she leaned to the side, her head resting on her shoulder.


Drianne blinked. Airii and Eirii looked at eachother. They had not expected the man to even talk to them, even socialize. At first, Drianne was a little shaken, but then she became more and more sympathetic as he spoke. She gave a little "Aww", and held his hand out to Walter.


"It's okay! You seemed to be friends with Todd anyway. You can be my friend! I'm Drianne."


Airii thought for a bit, then put her arm out as well. "Airii. It's a pleasure."


Following in her sister's footsteps, Eirii stuck out her hand, too. "Eirii."
 
Todd listened, saddened by Chrysaorus's doubts. He carefully, gently placed his hand on her cheek and listed her head back up to look at him. He didn't think anything of the action, really. All he currently cared about was cheering Chrysaorus up.


"By doing that, you're already fixing things. The rest of the fixing will just need time. This was a tragedy, but people will move on, eventually -- Especially since you can raise the dead. Back where I come from, once you die, that's it. No second chances. These people are lucky to have you for a leader, and they just need to be reminded of that."


Walter slowly and carefully took the fork out of his leg - though not without wincing - and put it aside. He regretted driving the thing into himself in the first place, as he was now bleeding a bit. Still, he smiled at the girls.


"Your sympathy is appreciated." He told them with a little laugh, this time genuine. He then shook each of their hands.


"I'd be honored to have you three as friends."


The voice had stopped, thank god. For now.
 
The queen did a little jig.


((HAHA I CRACK MYSELF UP Posting in a few.)) 
"... I guess... I guess I'll have to wait, then." Chrysaorus picked her head up and stood up from her seat, leaving the rest of her food on the table. She stepped away from the chair, pushed it back into the table, and gave Todd a gentle smile. "I thought you would have understood. I was right. Thank you..."


Drianne giggled a bit, and gave him an almost questioning gaze. "How come you don't have any friends?"


"Didn't." Airii corrected.


"Didn't have any friends?"
 
Todd smiled back. He gave Chrysaorus a thumbs-up for a second before simply looking into her eyes for a very long few seconds. Or at least, it felt long. Her eyes were strange, the colors themselves even stranger, though there was a beauty to them that held on tightly to Todd's attention.


"No problem, Chrysaorus." He told her quietly, "I'll always be here for you if you need me."


Walter thought a bit about the friend question that the girls had given him.


"Well, uh, i-it's probably because I can't remember them." He answered, "If I did have any friends, I mean. And even if I did, they're long gone in wherever I was before."


Walter then nervously cleaned his fork with his napkin, which only ended up getting stained with his blood.


"Oh, well, crap." He muttered.
 
Drianne and Airii couldn't exactly see the bloodied up napkin, but Eirii had. Eirii shifted nervously in place and even twiddled her little fingers. She wanted to tell her sister about it but she decided not to, and just say it later.


"You can't remember?" Drianne tilted her head. "Well, maybe Chry can help. She can ask Kolliah to restore your memories, if she is able to. Oh, Kolliah is our god." 
"Ah, that's nice to hear, Todd." Chrysaorus looked at him for a while, and blinked for a few, noticing that he was staring at her for an extended period of time. "...Is there something on your mind? Or is there something on my face?"


((**cowers at the cow prod...))
 
Todd felt his face get hot from blushing and he quickly looked away, rocking on his heels a bit.


"No! Nothing!" He told her quickly, rubbing his sweaty palms, "You just, uh - heh - You, er, you have really nice eyes is all. S-sorry. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable there, I mean." He then backed away from her a bit, giving her space and not wanting to seem like a freak.


Walter snapped at the mention of Chrysaorus "helping" him.


"The last time she 'helped' me, she nearly had me kill Todd, then threw me in the dungeon!" He roared at the children, taking his knife and suddenly stabbing it into the table. Then he stood and stormed out of the dining hall, heading back to his room.


"Walt??" Todd called to him when he saw this, but Walter did not answer.
 
Chrysaorus raised an eyebrow in confusion, then noticed that his face was reddening. "Todd, are you sick?" She asked, feeling at his face. "A fever?" His face was warmer than usual.


The three kids squealed and backed away from the table. Chrysaorus quickly turned on the balls of her feet and saw Walter bounding back over to his room. "Why is he running?" She narrowed his eyes at him. It must have been about Abbessus throwing him in Dungeon...


((Chry, run after him (being held bridal style in Todd's arms) then hug Walt to death! It's the only way!))
 
Todd sighed and shook his head when Walter didn't come back, though he trusted him enough to not leave the castle entirely. Most likely, Todd thought, he went back to his room. Todd gave Chrysaorus a small shrug, then walked over to the girls, taking the knife out of the table (which took a bit of effort, as Walter had shoved it pretty deep in there) and placing it down on its side.


"Now, see, I'm not blaming you for anything. You didn't do anything wrong," Todd started, then asked, "But what was it you said to Walter before he had his little tantrum, hm?"


He then sat down near them again.


"Because, y'know, Walt's a sensitive guy, and since he can't remember much, he's gonna be kinda fragile for a while."
 
"Umm, I said that he could ask Chry to restore his memories... Oh... I'm sorry, Todd, I didn't think of it until now!" Drianne said, obviously regretful.


Chrysaorus walked over to Drianne's side, and put her hands on her shoulders. "I wanted to atleast take it slow with him, but I don't know how it would turn out. Todd, if you would kindly help him recover, that would be nice. In the meantime, I will be studying near the garden..."


((I'm laz Flaito))
 
((//smacksmacksmack))


Todd nodded to this. He hoped that Walter would come to accept Chrysaorus eventually. Maybe some day soon, he'll see her for who she is and not what she was possessed by. He'll deal with Walter for now until he can deal with all of this on his own.


Todd then walked over to Drianne, carrying a request with him.


"Drianne, hey, I'm going to try convincing Walter to take a shower or a bath or something, y'know? Something to get him to clean all the blood and dirt off of him. If I steal his clothes for you, could you help me repair them, and maybe even use that as the guideline for another outfit for him? He really just... Needs something else. Something besides his 'Death's Shadow' outfit. Please? I mean, I know you love tailoring, so... I mean, I figured it wouldn't be a problem?"
 
Chrysaorus walked away, to go to the garden.


((Yeah I can't write much more orz))


Drianne nodded. "Can-do!"


((Flight... I'm dying... Of one-liners...))
 
Todd smiled at Drianne, knowing he could count on her, then waved at Airii and Eirii and walked all the way over to Walter's room. In typical friendly fashion, Todd managed to distract Walter from his own feelings by chatting with him about Escheria for a bit.


"You know, Walt," He told his friend after talking with him for a while, "You should probably go shower or something, y'know? I mean... Look at you! You look like you just walked off the set of a horror movie!"


Walter laughed a little at this, then nodded.


"I guess you're right. I'll go do that now, then." He agreed, but Todd quickly stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder.


"Hey, uh... I need your clothes to get them fixed, man." He told Walt, who then sighed.


"Alright, fine, but promise to give them back when I'm done." He told Todd -- Then began to take off his clothes in front of him.


"H-Hey! Woah, Walt, I didn't mean give them to me right now in front of me!" Todd exclaimed, shielding his eyes, clearly unamused. Walter then threw his pants at Todd's head, laughing.


"Well then you shouldn't of asked me for them now! Hah!"


Todd did not uncover his eyes until he heard Walter swing the door open and run out, whooping like some crazed and drunken party-goer. Todd then realized, horrified, that Walter probably didn't even know where the nearest shower was, and that he'll be getting lost a few times before he found one. Lost and completely nude. Oy.


Todd took Walter's clothes and wandered over to Drianne's room, still a bit disturbed by what had happened.


"Uhh, hey there." He said, "I have the clothes. They're pretty torn, yup."
 
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