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[dreamsofnoah]

[At first there's only audio; beeps and giggling and clicking as Road messes around with the buttons. She's been around a short while already and has been peeking at all those other posts, learning more about the other people there.]

Hmm, it's this one, isn't it?

[And the video flashes on, two bright and mischievous brownish eyes filling up the

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video.

[rile]

[now here's a face he hadn't expected to see, but it's certainly a pleasant surprise. especially after being subjected to the persecution of the exorcists for so long (and all alone, too), the prospect that the family was arriving was uplifting.

good for the soul, or some insightful junk like that.]

There may be one or two familiar faces, Road. [see: himself.]

video.

[dreamsofnoah]

Ooh, really?

[suddenly excited, and then...she cranes her neck to look around her.] Where? [But even she can't tease him for long, not when she's happy to see him too.] Hi Tyki ♥

video.

[rile]

[his mouth draws up into a charming smile as he cocks his head against a hand. from the looks of things, he must be seated on a couch. beyond that is the pale expanse of a wall. a living room, perhaps?]

Road. [he repeats her name with the same level of fondness. with each moment he spends acknowledging that he's no longer the only Noah to walk this foreign world, his morale increases. suddenly, everything doesn't seem so dreary.]

Should I come meet you?

video.

[dreamsofnoah]

[She notes his increasingly good mood with a smile of her own. While the two of them always get along, this seems like more than the usual happy family reunion.

Shh, of course she's not wondering if she can wheedle anything extra out of him because of it - though she's also thinking something may have gone wrong for him to be so relieved to see family around.

She'll find out soon enough.]

Of course! It's boring on my own. But I don't know where I am.

video. 1/2

[rile]

Don't you worry your pretty little head. [just as he lifts his head from the perch of his knuckles, fanning his fingers, the wings of a Tease unfurls from his index finger. one materializes from his shoulder, and another from the inside of his elbow. they're substantially smaller in size (and number, too), but they're enough to help him locate his sister, no matter where she's hidden inside SPHERE.]

Be there in a jiffy. [and the feed blanks.]

action.

[rile]

[minutes after the termination of the connection, one of the butterfly golems Tyki had presented to her on camera flutters her way. it roosts on her shoulder, filmy wings beating in intervals to keep it steady.

the sound of his dress shoes hitting the linoleum signals his arrival.

he fixes her with a lazy smile and gives her a two-fingered salute.] Yo.

action.

[dreamsofnoah]

[Road's busy poking at the Tease with a finger - anyone but a Noah would be missing that finger by now. Her head lifts towards Tyki as she hears him approaching, hardly giving him time to finish that brief greeting before she's running at him, the Tease quickly fluttering off her shoulder.

He's hit with the full force of the small Noah with the sort of glomp that's usually reserved for the Earl.]

That was fast!

action.

[rile]

[it's a good thing that he braces himself for impact, holding his ground even when she careens into him at full throttle. the groan that follows the collision maybe be a little more theatrical than necessary.

he lifts her, a forearm seated under her thighs to hold her up. he hardly notices when the Tease that had located her melts into the back of his hand.] Would you have had it any other way?

action.

[dreamsofnoah]

[She shakes her head as she settles happily into his arms, her hands latching on to his sleeve.] Then I'd have had to come find you and I might have gotten lost! Think of what Papa would say!

[But the mention of family has her frowning slightly.] What do you know about this place, Tyki?

action.

[rile]

['Papa' would've been a furious, tearful mess- but it wasn't like Tyki wasn't accustomed to his grandiose personality. he'd always had a tendency for the melodramatic. if Road had gotten herself tangled in the maze that is Ceriu, Cyril wouldn't have spared Tyki the thespian's rod.

he adjusts his grip on her and cants his head to the side in a thoughtful manner.] I know about as much as you do, I'm afraid.

-- though I should warn you of one thing the little ball-thing neglected to tell you.

[why does he feel like he's about to drop a bomb?] This place has a criminally low supply of sugar.

[and cigarettes, but not that Road cares.]

action.

[dreamsofnoah]

That's not a lot at all. We can't just be stuck here.

[She tilts her head to the side in a copy of his gesture, curious of what he's about to tell her.

And then...]

...there aren't any sweets?

[It doesn't sink in immediately, because a world with no sweets is unthinkable, but once it does she starts flailing about in his arms with no consideration for whether she accidentally hits him.]

There can't be no sweets, Tyki! That's it, we're going home right now!

action.

[rile]

[quick thinking has him narrowly escaping her knuckles clipping him across the cheek. with some difficulty, he angles himself back and towards the outskirts of her range of motion.] As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, Road- we can't.

They'd never admit it, but we're being held hostage for the- [a mixture of disgust and cynicism.]- 'greater good'. They want us to help them.

action.

[dreamsofnoah]

[She's sulking now, giving in to the brattier side of her personality and just hanging there in his arms, her own arms draped miserably at her sides as she pouts.]

But we were busy back home.

[There's a derisive snort from her at the mention of the greater good.] They're very stupid then, aren't they?

action. 1/2

[rile]

[he lifts his free hand (she's not so heavy that he needs two arms to shoulder her weight), indicating just how stupid with a thumb and forefinger. it's an understatement.] A smidge, but what can you expect?

[he drums his fingers against the outside of her thigh, cocking his head in the opposite direction.] If it helps any...

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[rile]

[feel that?]

The boy and his merry men have joined us.

[it's giddy malice. creepy, crawly, and thrilling.]

action.

[dreamsofnoah]

I'd expect them not to pick people to help them who will tear their whole world down instead~.

[Though the pout does resolve itself into a smile at that thought. If they dare stop the Noah from finishing their work on their own world, what better thing to do than to continue it here.

But then, then, she feels that wicked jolt of cruelty from him, exciting and chilling and oh so very contagious, her smile spreading into an evil grin at his words.]

All of them? They're here too? Allen and the other Exorcists...